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DEMOMANIA 1.17 Scanned and Edited By DIT 07-08-94 For FIREFLASH of OTT DEMOMANIAC - PAGE 1 - CODE:2981 LIST OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction 1.1. The Main Features 2. Installation 3. The Basics 4. The First Steps in DemoManiac 5. The Construction Edotor 5.1. The Pattern List 5.2. The Various Types of Parameters 5.3. The Effects List 5.4. The Pattern Administration 6. The Script Editor 6.1. The Script Commands 7. The Memory Editor 8. The Design Editor 9. The Configuration Editor 10. The General Screen 10.1. Script Control 10.2. Effects Control 10.3. Disk Control 11. The Menus 12. Limitations 13. Replayers 14. Internal ... 15. Your Own Effects 16. Bug Reports and Suggestions 17. Registration 18. Protection Codes COPY PROTECTION! This programme is copy protected. DemoManiac took two Years to develop and will also be supported in future by Black Legend and Complex Development - with hard work, time and money. Copying etc, is illegal; and unfair, not very nice, thoughtless and morally disgusting! (SO IS SELLING A PROGRAM THAT DOES NOT WORK FOR £25.99) This made it necessary to include a copy protection. When you are requested to enter a code on page x, please enter the number you find at the bottom of that page. Example: If you are asked for the code on page 2, the number you have to enter will be: 5344. (Bottom of this page ...!) DEMOMANIAC - PAGE 2 - CODE:5344 1. INTRODUCTION Many intromakers, tilting and multimedia programmes exist for the Amiga, but only a very small minority is powerful enough for you to receive what you want as an end-result. In most cases your imagination is very limited by the programme. Naturally it isn't possible to let the users imagination run freely in all cases - the computers hardware also limits the possibilities - but it is still possible to give them much more possibilities than such programmes have previously. DemoManiac does this for you. DemoManiac lets you create impressive demos and presentations, not requiring any programming knowledge whatsoever! With it you are in a position to produce in a few short minutes what would take you months to program yourself - and that is not counting the years of programming experience necessary to do that. You can even produce complete presentations without touching the keyboard: totally mouse-driven. But even if you have experiences in Assembly programming and theoretically can makedemos without DemoManiac, using it will make things for you a lot simpler. You can use your own routines instead of the effect modules supplied with DemoManiac. As the programme is modular structured this is a simple task. In this case DemoManiac will become a great help in the design and the music / sound interaction of your demonstration. 1.1. THE MAIN FEATURES Before we continue with a systematic approach explaining the build-up of the programme to you we will repeat the main features DemoManiac offers. Demos can be designed purely by using the mouse and without any programming knowledge whatsoever . The AGA-chipset (A1200 and A4000) is completely supported (and you can only really use DemoManiac to its full potential on AGA machines). But DemoManiac is also quite happy to run on A500 (68000, kickstart 1.3) if enough memory is available. Demos and presentations produced using DemoManiac can be passed on to friends and relatives without any problems and can even be used commercially (as long as a message is presented that DemoManiac was used to create the product). DemoManiac is built up in a modular way. This means that the collection of effect- modules and: replayers will be continuously enlarged (through updates from Black Legend). This way you are always at the forefront of technology when working with DemoManiac and working with it - and the products created by it - will never become boring or old-fashioned. DemoManiac includes a operating-system compatible editor that is very short in length because it has been completely programmed in Assembly .. Pieces of music created with all major music programmes can be used. DEMOMANIAC - PAGE 3 - CODE:0293 Sound effects can be tied together with certain effects on screen (for that extra audio-visual experience). Demomaniac has a dynamic memory management, meaning that it only uses as much memory as is necessary. Newer and faster processors will speed up the effects, but not mess up your timing. DemoManiac doesn't tie you to one given screen-setup. Only the effect modules that are actually being used are in memory. There are of other possibilities and features with DemoManiac. But you are sure you will find them soon enough ... 2. INSTALLATION The disk supplied includes DemoManiac and all the relevant data in packed form. So you can use these they have to first be unpacked. This happens automatically and to no extra complication for you when you start the disk. You will be presented with a menu giving you a choice between installation on disk and on harddisk. The whole installation process is very simple and is accompanied by any necessary information on screen. Therefore we will not need to go into any further detail in the manual. 3. THE BASICS The basic unit or structure in DemoManiac are the 'EFFECT-MODULES' . Each of these offers you an effect which can be mutated through various parameters. There are both simple effects such as showing a picture on screen and very complex ones such as letting the spectatorflythrough a vectorworld. These effect-modules are now connected to so-called 'PATTERNS'. Within one pattern up to 6 effects can run simultaneously. Staying with our vector world example ... If you combine a fade-in effect (FADE) with the flight through the vector world (VECTORSCAPE) in one pattern, you will get a vector world that slowlyfades in. At the same time you could also present a text to the spectator as he is flying over the vector world. And you can fade the text in and out at the same time, too. To produce a complete presentation or demonstration you will first have to design the separate scenes ('PATTERNS') and then sort and present them correctly in a 'SCRIPT'. DEMOMANIAC - PAGE 4 - CODE:0021 There are three levels when making a presentation: The lowest are the 'EFFECT-MODULES', the next are the 'PATTERNS' and the highest level is the 'Script'. 4. THE FIRST STEPS IN DEMOMANIAC To give you a glimpse of what is possible with DemoManiac, here a test run in form of a simple example . . . First start DemoManiac. Don't let all the gadgets irritate you. Enter the construct editor first by choosing it in the pulldown menu or clicking on the 'CONSTRUCTION' gadget at the bottom of the screen. Each pattern is designed in this editor. You will now see four blue windows. The top one holds all information for the pattern being edited at the moment and the lower three show all the possible effect-modules sorted by type and alphabet. Use the mouse to select 'LAYER 0' in the top window - just click on it and it is already selected. "What in the world is a LAYER?" you may be asking yourself right at this moment. Well, each PATTERN includes 6 LAYERS and each of these LAYERS can be filled with an EFFECT-MODULE. Why the effects have to be placed in layers and not just anywhere will become apparent later on. To now allocate an effect to a layer you have to select one in the left- hand window below (MAIN EFFECTS). Please choose 'Stars' for this example; if you can't find stars on the list use the slider on the right to move the list up and down. After a short loading period the word 'Stirs' will be allocated to 'LAYER 0' and further information will be presented below it in the top window. The 'Stars' effect-module has now been allocated to 'LAYER 0'. The new lines between 'LAYER 0' and 'LAYER 1' are the variable parameters the stars effect has to offer. Please choose one of the parameters now (maximum number of stars). Next to your pointer a new window will appear in which you can edit the parameters. The value at the moment is 400; but if you now use the slider to change the number of stars you can have up to 2000 or go as low as one single star. If the slider isn't accurate enough for you then you can enter the value using the keyboard (press <Return> to complete). Now that you have had a short play-around with the parameters press 'RESET' to return to the standard value (400) and the 'OK to complete the editing of the parameters. Click on 'TEST PATTERN' to view the stars effect. After a short while you will already find yourself in deepest, darkest space ... Press the left mouse button to complete the test and return to the editor. DEMOMANIAC - PAGE 5 - CODE:5755 Have a go at changing the parameters and effects and then view the results of your changes by clicking on 'TEST PATTERN'. This will give you a feel for DemoManiac. So you don't experience too many problems, here's a short explanation of the 'Stars' parameters: Effect delay : We'll tell you what this one is for later on. Start Starnumber : The 'stars' effect gradually increases the number of stars an screen. This is the starting value. Starnumber incr : How quickly should the number of stars rise. (0=not at all, 1=very slowly, 100=very fast) Maximum number : Maximum number of stars on screen . An explanation of all parameters of the other effects can be found in the back of the handbook. Now that you have legend how to change parameters we can get a bit more complex - after all, DemoManiac can handle more than just one effect. So, let's scroll down the pattern list (top window) using the slider next to it so that the next layer (LAYER 1 ) becomes visible and click on it. We would like LAYER 1 to contain the effect-module 'DotText' . So we click on 'DotText' in the 'MAIN EFFECTS' menu. This effect offers somewhat more parameters that we will not be explaining fully in this chapter. But if you now full of enthusiasm click on 'Test Pattern' DemoManiac will come up with an error message saying you have to load a text for the DotText effect And viewing the parameters you will realise that the parameter ('Actual Textpage') is empty. So, this parameter is waiting for data file! These are not loaded from the pattern editor though, but from the MEMORY EDITOR. In the bottom gadget line-up you will be pleased to fine one marked MEMORY. Select it and you will find yourself on a new screen. Please choose 'BLOCK 0' (this is the only block on screen anyway at the moment). After this click on 'LOAD FILE' and choose a file with the ending .TXT using the file requester and load it ('OK'). A text file is now in memory that can be used at any time in your product. You have now loaded a11 the necessary data and can continue work on the pattern (click on CONSTRUCTION). Back in the CONSTRUCTION EDITOR you can now active the 'Actual Page' parameter and will be presented a list of all text files in memory . Now choose your file from this list (the list isn't too big at the moment anyway). As all parameters are 'loaded' we can give it a trial-run by pressing the 'Test Pattern' button. It's starting to look good, isn't it? DEMOMANIAC - PAGE 6 - CODE:8428 Now let's have a play-around with the parameters .. Why don't you give the following settings a try: X-Angle increment gl : 44 Y-Angle increment gl : 77 X-Angle increment rel : 0 Y -Angle increment rel : 0 Start X-Angle : 000 Start Y-Angle : 000 Speed : 2 Number of Letters : 25 or... X-Angle increment gl : 000 X-Angle increment gl : 000 X-Angle increment rel : 3 Y-Angle increment rel : 0 Start X-Angle : 130 Start Y-Angle : 090 Speed : 1 Number of Letters : 25 A bit of music and we could be as happy as a lark ... Actually there is just one programme on the Amiga that is used to make demo soundtracks - the ProTracker. But, there are loads of versions around, making it impossible to play all pieces of music with just one universal player. For this reason we have included a whole collection of players with DemoManiac. Before playing a song respectively module (the correct terminology) you have to select one of these players. (BEWARE: The wrong player combined with the wrong module may cause your computer to crash.) So, let's choose one. Click on 'PLAYER ., (top right) and choose 'TrackerPacker' from the list. All the modules include with DemoManiac have been packed with this one. This is also the only player that is capable of playing modules PACKED. As we have now made our player decision we can choose a module to listen to. For this click on 'SONG:'. (All music can be packed with the PowerPacker.) And with the next test run we can see and hear what kind of a difference sound can make. We might as well mention another feature while we are at it. Click on 'Design:' in the pattern list and choose the option 'NEWS SCREEN'. Another go at 'Test Pattern' will slowly give you a feeling what it is like to work with DemoManiac ... DEMOMANIAC - PAGE 7 - CODE:3812 5. THE CONSTRUCTION EDITOR We will explain this editor first because it handles the lowest level of a DemoManiac presentation, the effect modules. You can enter the CONSTRUCTION EDITOR anytime by clicking on the CONSTRUCTlON button get the lower part of the screen or hitting the F6 function key. You can also enter it via the pulldown menus. 5.1. THE PATTERN LIST ln this editor patterns are developed and tested. Each pattern is managed through the pattern list that is in the top window. The list is built-up in following way: Name : {Pattern name} Design : {Name of the screen design used in this pattern} Time : {Time-length of the patterns} Relations : {Relations between the layers} Layer 0 : {Name of the effect module in LAYER 0} {its parameters} Layer 1 : {Name of the effect module in LAYER 1} {its Parameters} And so on ... The pattern name is of no importance to DemoManiac itself. It is purely to help you in your administration of the various patterns and the putting together of a script. Design is the screen setup. Please find more information on this one in the chapter on the 'DESIGN EDITOR'. Time is represented - as indeed all times in DemoManiac are - in seconds and frames. One frame is the time it takes the electron beam to build up a screen on your monitor. If something happened even faster then you wouldn't even recognise it as the screen couldn't be prepared so quickly. A frame is therefore the smallest time scale that is relevant for DemoManiac. One frame is 0.02 seconds (1 /50 second) in length. Therefore you can only enter values between 0 and 49, as 50 frames would be one second. Times are represented in DemoManiac as: DEMOMANIAC - PAGE 8 - CODE:4514 SSSS/FF The S stands for seconds (maximum of 9999) and F stands for frames (maximum 49). One minute would thus equal 0060/00 and one minute and half a second 0060/25. You can also programme the length of a pattern as 'INFINITE' . This is also the time preset. To set it you have to leave the time-requester by pressing the 'INFINITE' key. If you have already calculated a time for your pattern and only want to enter the infinite mode for a test, then that's no problem whatsoever - the number will stay in memory and will automatically be enter once you switch back from infinite mode. The next option, relations, describes the relations between the 6 layers in memory and the 'real' layers you will see on screen. Each effect runs on a transparency; on 'unused' parts you can see the effect underneath. To change the order of these transparencies without having to move the effect-modules around you can use these layer relations. This layer relations entry contains 6 numbers (known as the layer sequence). Each of these numbers represents a layer and its position represents the position in the pile of transparencies. The standard layer sequence 012345 means that Layer 0 is at the bottom and Layer 5 is the top transparency (and not covered by any other one). If you change the layer sequence to 543210 then the situation is exactly the opposite without you having to change the position of the effect-modules themselves. 'Weird' combinations are also possible such as 425301 . This would result in following order in the transparencies: Layer 4 : at the bottom Layer 2 : over Layer 4 Layer 5 : over Layer 2 Layer 3 : over Layer 5 Layer 0 : almost at the top Layer 1 : at the top The layer sequence is not the only thing you can change in the layer relations. Additionally to the order you can also set the transparency for the layer itself. This is basically a switch whether the layer is 'painted' with normal paint or see-through paint. Is this value for instance 1 - 3 - - , that means that just layers 1 and 3 are transparent. Using the requester that pops up when you enter the layer relations option is simple, once you have understood the principles of the layer sequence and transparency values. The top line (switches for the layer sequence) has 6 small gadgets that go up by one each time you click on them. This way you can enter any order you wish. The gadget below (switches for the transparency values) work like light switches - they are either ON or OFF. This way you can set the transparency for each individual layer. DEMOMANIAC - PAGE 9 - CODE:5314 Now you know about all entries in the pattern list apart from LAYER entries. The layers contain the most important information for a pattern: the EFFECT MODULES. Each layer can hold one effect. Click on one of the lines that include the word 'LAYER x:' then you activate that layer. This way, you are telling DemoManiac in to which layer you would like the next effect loading (or which layer the next DeleteEffect is to affect). If you click on a line that contains a parameter for an effect you can then change these parameters . 5.2. THE VARIOUS TYPES OF PARAMETERS There are various types of parameters: The standard are VALUE parameters that contain a decimal number. If you choose one of these a new window will be opened. The value of the parameter can be changed using the slider and the arrow or just enter the number on your keyboard. If you mess up the parameters value totally you can press the 'RESET key to get back to the standard values. Leave the window by pressing 'RETURN' after entering your value, press the 'OK' or 'CANCEL' buttons or just click outside the window (same effect as choosing 'OK'). Apart from the VALUE parameters, DemoManiac also includes VARIABLE parameters. Just like in a programming language you can insert variables instead of constant values. This allow you to change an effect while it's running by changing the value in a parameter. You can for instance define the position of a vector object as (x, y) instead of (160, 127). If another effect changes the variables it will automatically also change the position of said vector object. If you program the value of the variables to represent the current mouse position for instance, the user can move the vector object with the mouse. If all this sounds a bit too complicated, you can just ignore it. A VALUE parameter allowing variables differs from the "standard" parameter only by having another switch at the bottom of the window: 'VARIABLE' : Click on this switch and a string gadget and a 'CHOOSE' button will appear instead of the slider. You can now choose the name of the variable to be connected to the effect. The name can be any character combination as long as it doesn't start with a space or is made up entirely of spaces. All names are stored in capital letters. Possible names are for example 'x' , 'Hallo' , '3d' , 'X Position' or #$%yQ!' Calling you variable '007 for example is also possible but will surely cause some problems as you may later not recognise it as being a variable and not a definite value of '007'. So please use names you will recognise again later on. If you have already been using variables in your programme you can find them and implement them here, too, by using the 'CHOOSE' function. And if you decide a constant value is better after all then you can return to the VALUE requester by choosing the 'NUMBER' button. DEMOMANIAC - PAGE 10 - CODE:1954 Above we have described parameters that accept either a constant or variable value. Next we have parameters that ALWAYS require a variable - they don't read a value from the variable, but a write to it. These are called 'OUTPUT parameters. Some effect modules don't actually do anything you can see on screen (DUMMY-EFFECTS) as their only function is to change the variables and thus for example allow interactivity. As certain effects require more data than just numbers further types of parameter exist: If you click on the PICTURE parameter you will be present with a list of all pictures located in memory to choose from. These already have to have been loaded into memory via the Memory-Editor. This type of parameter is therefore known as 'MEMORY parameter. There are various of these for animations, fonts, samples, texts etc. Apart from these major parameters (VALUE, VARIABLE and MEMORY) there are various other ones that for instance handle the relationship between the layer and the effect. Others work like switches between two positions (On/Off or Top/Bottom etc.). An exact description of each individual effect and its parameters can be found when you choose info in the Construction-Editor. You will have to select the respective layer beforehand . When using an effect for the first time it is best to read the info file for a complete description of the effect's features. 5.3. THE EFFECTS LIST All available effects are listen in the three window in the bottom part of the screen. The split into three window is purely for organisational purposes and doesn't have any internal significance to DemoManiac. The effects are sorted by type. The left window contains the main effects, the middle one contains transitional effects (fades, bumps etc.) and the right one the special effects. If you click on any of these effect it will be loaded into the current layer. Is an effect already in the respective layer they programme will double-check whether you really want to replace the old effect with the new one . 5.4. THE PATTERN ADMINISTRATION In the top 1eft of the screen you will find information on how many patterns you have already designed and the number of the one you are working on at the moment. To view the effect lists of the other patterns you can use the NEXT and PREVIOUS buttons. If you press the NEXT button when no further pattern is there then a new pattern is opened for you to edit. A new pattern opened in such a way automatically copies the design and layer relations of its predecessor. DEMOMANIAC - PAGE 11 - CODE:4653 The BEG and END buttons allow you to jump to the first respectively last pattern available. The GOTO button lets you choose the pattern to edit from a list (only if you have more than one pattern of course). The DELETE button deletes the active pattern and moves all following ones up by one. Of course this movement does NOT mess up any previously uses made of the pattern numbers (for example in the script editor) as all these matters are corrected automatically by DemoManiac. If you have only made one pattern you can delete it - all entries will be set to standard - but it will naturally not be removed from the list. The INSERT button pushes the present pattern and all following ones up by one position. This way you get a new and empty position that you can now begin to edit. 'DELETE EFFECT' will delete the effect module in the chosen layer emptying the layer again. The execution of this command can be interrupted by pressing the left mouse button. 'TEST PATTERN' tests the pattern being edited at the moment. The execution can be interrupted by pressing the left mouse button . Before we continue with the next editor we would like to point out that can either leave the parameter editing window by either pressing the 'OK' button or by just choosing the next parameter by mouse. This of course saves time as every click outside the window is regarded as an 'OK'. You could also jump directly to 'Test Pattern'. 6. THE SCRIPT EDITOR After you have made all the patterns you want in the CONSTRUCTION EDITOR you can now start thinking about putting them together to a demo. The script editor is entered by choosing the SCRIPT gadget at the bottom of the screen. On the left-hand side of the script editor there's a long list the script. The script is partitioned in many entries, each of which can hold a PATTERN or a COMMAND. The number of entries you require can be set using the 'Script entries' (top right). The minimum number of script entries equals the number of patterns you have designed; otherwise you couldn't show all patterns you have designed and therefore would be wasting memory. Press NORMAL and the number of patterns will automatically be set to the number of patterns designed. Please do not exaggerate with the number of script entries; everything takes up memory and needs to be administrated and will slow DemoManiac down during editing. Just below the script entries you will the Active Pattern. This is the pattern number you have been working on last in the construction editor. This can be changed easily, either by the string gadget, the cursor keys or the CHOOSE function (has the same function as the GOTO button in the construction editor has). DEMOMANIAC - PAGE 12 - CODE:9874 If you after changing the active pattern return to the construction editor, you will automatically be editing the pattern last addressed in the script editor. What the active pattern is needed for in the script editor will be explained later. Beneath the active pattern there are a further five gadgets that define what should happen when a script entry is selected. A blue arrow on the right next to the gadget show you which one is active at the moment. (You can select the active gadget resp. function by pressing it with the mouse pointer.) The functions are as follow: Choose Pattern : Every time you choose a script entry you will be able to choose the pattern to be inserted from a list. Choose Command : Choose a script command (to influence the course of the script run) and enter its parameters. Increase Pat : If you have already designed all patterns in a logical order and want to spare yourself the hassle of having to enter them all into the script (first pattern 1, then 2, then 3, then 4 etc.),. then this function will help. Just click on a script entry and the active pattern will be stored in that position and one is automatically added to the number of the active pattern. This way you only have to click once on each of the script entries. Decrease Pat : Works the same way as 'Increase Pat.' but one is deducted after each click. Edit Command : Change the parameters of a script command. The INSERT button stays pressed after you have selected it to show you that you are now in the insert mode. Just click on a script entry and all following entries are pushed down by one. The resuming free space in the script can now be edited in the chosen mode (choose pattern, choose command etc.). That means that immediately after the insertion of a position a pattern or command is entered. After the insert function has been completed the insert gadget is deactivated again and the script list is updated. All commands that referred to a script position are also updated so they don't point to a wrong entry. DEMOMANIAC - PAGE 13 - CODE:5554 The DELETE function works in a similar fashion. When in delete mode, you can delete entries in your script by clicking on them and all following entries will move up one position. You can deactivate the insert and delete functions by pressing the buttons a second time. The 'TEST SCRIPT' and 'TEST PATTERN' gadgets are at the very bottom and do exactly what their names imply: Test Pattern : Has exactly the same function as it does in the construction editor with the difference that it refers to the active pattern (the | last pattern edited). Test Script : View the whole script. Press the right mouse button to break off the script test and the left mouse button to skip the active pattern. 6.1. THE SCRIPT COMMANDS We have already mentioned the fact that script are not just a list of patterns but also can include COMMANDS. If you choose a script entry while in 'Choose Command' mode instead of being in the 'Choose Pattern' mode you will be presented a list of all possible script commands. Choose a command form this list and (if necessary) set its parameters. Script Commands basically exist to influence the running of the script, but are also capable of much more. Let's have a look ... FadeMusiclN : If the Player supports fades then this command will fade the music in whilst the demo continues to run. At the very beginning you will have to set the music 'Silent'. FadeMusicOUT : Fade-out. Silent : Switches the music off. This is mainly necessary to enable a pause between the beginning of the demo and the fade-in. Goto X : Jump directly to script position X. Exit : End the script. Loop X : Repeats the following script entries X times. EndLoop : Marks the end of the loop block (started with Loop X). DEMOMANIAC - PAGE 14 - CODE:2560 Gosub X : Jumps to script position X and returns once it finds a 'Return' command . Return : Ends a subblock started with the 'Gosub' command. FreeBlock X : This command only actually works in the executable demo as it frees any memory possible during the demo. CAUTION: This will of course only work if the data you are deleting is NOT needed later on in the demo! Skip X=Y : Jumps the next script position if the relation is correct. Nop XXXX : This command doesn't actually have a function and is solely there so you can insert notes and comments into the script. Wait X : Wait X seconds/frames. These script commands are possibly not very easy to understand, but they can open the doors to amazing possibilities once used correctly. The script commands are surely easily understandable for everyone. Here's a small example: 0001 : Silent ;Switch music off 0002 : FadeMusiclN ;Start fading the music in 0003 : Small Info(0001) ;Start pattern 0004 : FadeMusicOUT ;Fade out music 0005 : Wait1 ;Wait until complete So you don't have any problems fading music we suggest you use the DemoManiac-Player - TrackerPacker! . This player is also capable of fading CIA-timed songs with many effects. Let's continue with the other editors ... 7. THE MEMORY EDITOR In a demo or presentation you will be needing loads of data apart from all the effects we have already discussed. This data has to be available in memory and have to be handled in such a way, that you can use the same data more than once without having to load it into memory again. DEMOMANIAC - PAGE 15 - CODE:8488 This task is handled by the MEMORY EDITOR. Enter it by choosing the MEMORY gadget in the bottom gadget list. The Memory Editor looks a lot like the Script Editor. Again, there's a long list on the left and gadgets on the right. The list (Memory List) contains all data files that have to be in memory during the presentation. Each of these data files is given a MEMORY BLOCK number. When you enter the Memory Editor for the first time you will only find one block (0000). Once you have filled this slot with data though, another empty block will appear. This way you always have access to an empty position. When you choose a block entry it will just be highlighted and will not automatically open a window as most other options. This has it's reasons: It is very important that data is not deleted from memory unnecessarily as this would cut up the computer's memory into small chunks. Always choose the block you want to edit before you using the gadgets . Following gadgets and functions are included in the memory editor: LoadFile : Load a file into the designated memory block. (This is necessary if you want to use the file with an effect.) When working with disks as opposed to a harddrive please always use the disk's name and not 'DF0:' etc. in the file requester. This way DemoManiac will be able to find your data at any time. UnLoadFile : Empties a block. Show Block : you the contents of the active block. Sort Blocks TYPE : Sorts memory blocks by data types. This does not affect all other lists. Sort Blocks ALPHA : Sorts memory blocks in alphabetical order. Sort Blocks SIZE : Sorts memory blocks by size. Remove Unused : Removes all blocks that aren't used by any pattern. Make Text : Use this option to edit text for the active memory block. DEMOMANIAC - PAGE 16 - CODE:7403 All data files in the memory editor are presented in the following way: Block {Block number} : {Name} (Type) {Size in Bytes} The block number is of lesser importance whereas the name and the type are important, criteria for the data management. Following data types exist: Textfile : Standard ASCII file (you can edit yourself). A DemoManiac textfile has following standard setup: TEXT ThislsTheNameOfThisTextFile This is the first line of my text file ... and this the second ... ... bla bla bla ... The only thing you have to remember is that the first four letters of the text file have to be 'TEXT' (in capital letters) followed by a space. Everything typed after this space before the first return is the name of the file. And everything following this return is the actual text itself. Picture : Pictures are standard IFF pictures as all Amiga paint programmes generate. (1 2, 1 8 and 24 Bit pictures are not supported.) Sample : Sample is the term used for sound effects. They have to be standard IFF format (IFF8SVX). They are used to connect sound effects to actions on screen. Animation : These are standard animations (IFF-ANIM5) as generated by DPAINT. Font : Fonts are data files that can only be generated by the DemoManiacfont converter. We regret you cannot use Amiga system fonts as these (for technical reasons) are saved in a different format. (A converter will be available shortly.) Object : Vector objects. Scape : Whole vector landscapes. DEMOMANIAC - PAGE 17 - CODE:1477 Data : If a file is described as 'Data' this means a specific data type could not be recognised. Now you now how to load data into memory and how DemoManiac manages it. Try not to waste memory as you can never have too much of it when making a demo. Let's go on to the next editor ... 8. THE DESIGN EDITOR The screen setup ('Design') is a very important part of a demo resp. a presentation. As much freedom as possible in making your own screen setup is important to let your imagination flow freely. The DESIGN EDITOR let's you do just this. You can enter it by clicking on the DESIGN gadget. The DESIGN EDITOR gives you following possibilities: You can limit the "action window' on the screen to any chosen area and present graphics in the empty parts of the screen above and below this window. Or you can have graphics on screen that are not linked to effects and areas ("over" or "under" the action) . The Amigas hardware sprites make this possible. You now can for instance lay a frame around the screen or create the feeling that you are sitting in a cockpit ... Apart from this graphical extras the design editor also allows you to have rainbows background colours, include mirrors etc. Once again the whole thing is managed by an easy to understand list that contains all effects, colours and settings. This are listed in order of their position on screen (from top to bottom). By clicking on one of these entries you can change the parameters. This design list is the large blue window in the design editor. Above you will find the name of the design you are editing momentarily. You can edit the name anytime by clicking on it. Also, there are two gadgets called 'CHOOSE' and 'NEW' there. When creating a new design, click on the 'NEW' gadget and then enter a name so as to avoid complications. When creating a design one 'effect' is always there - the 'ActionWindow'. This is the area on screen where the effect modules are actually displayed. Outside this area the effect can not be seen. You edit a design by using the gadgets on the righthand side of the screen: Add Graphic : Show graphics on screen. DEMOMANIAC - PAGE 18 - CODE:6832 Add Rainbow : Change the background screen colours into a rainbow. Add Mirror : Add a mirror effect. Add Object : Define the start position for a graphical object. Add Bar : Add a colour bar to divide the screen. These five commands add effects to the screen design. When you choose one of these effects you will always first be asked where (on the screen) the effect has to start and where it finishes. Following your entry the effect is added to the design list on the left. Once an effect has been entered in the list you can activate it by clicking on it's name and edit it by clicking on the parameter you wish to change (as in the instruction editor). Please note that object and graphics effects require a picture to be loaded into the memory editor beforehand. So you can edit designs comfortably we have included further gadgets: Clear Design : Clears the complete design list. Remove Effect : Removes the active effect from the design list. Adjust Position : Allows you to change the position and size of the active effect visually. Use the mouse to change the position and press the right mouse button to change the size. Press the left mouse button to transfer the values (you have just set manually) into the design list. Test Design : View the active design. Load Design : Load a design from disk or harddisk. Save Design : Save the active design to disk or harddisk. When you take a look at your design with the 'Test Design' function you of course won't be able to see the mirrors as the ActionWindow is empty. This can bypassed if you set up a pattern in the construction editor already using the new pattern (and containing an effect in the Action Window). DEMOMANIAC - PAGE 19 - CODE:0715 By pressing the Amiga+T (short cut for 'Test Pattern') you will be able to look at the pattern without leaving the design editor. This way you can easily have a look at the effect a mirror has on the overall look. 9. THE CONFIGURATION EDiTOR The sole role of this editor is to establish some general settings for DemoManiac and for the completed demo presentation. 'MINIMAL CONFIGURATION' lets you define the systems the demo should be able to run on and with how much / how little memory the demo shouldn't even start. (If you have to little memory the computer may only crash during the demo when it actually requires more than the available memory ...) It is best to configure these settings before you start making a demo. This way effects that won't run on the chosen 'minimal configuration' will be rejected when you try to load them. The same counts for picutres with too many colours and music that is too long. Of course the demo will run without any problems on any systems higher than your configuration settings .. Also, you can set whether the copper lists should be precalculated or realtime-calculated. Even if you aren't quite sure what copper lists are, you should know the consequences this button brings with it: Copper lists are nothing else than a description of your design lists that the computer can understand and use (through the graphics co- processor COPPER). Usually these are calculated just before a pattem is executed; this of course causes a slight delay, but a precalculation will take memory. (The amount can vary substantially.) It is up to you to decide if you have enough memory and if so you can switch this function on. The next option is FreeUsedEffects and as you may guess is for handling consumption and freeing of memory. This function only has an effect in an executable demo! lt deletes all effects that aren't to be used again from memory during the running of the demo. This makes the running of demos - especially long ones - possible on systems that have substantially less memory than the system used to create the demo. The only disadvantage this option has is that after the demo has finished your computers memory is "messy" and without reseting the machine you will not be able to continue. But if your demo! resets anyway or runs endlessly you can use this function without commiting second thoughts. All the other parameters the configuration editor offers are selfexplanatory and are not detailed any closer here. DEMOMANIAC - PAGE 20 - CODE:0229 This is (as you surely will have noticed) the first screen you see when using DemoManiac. From here you can control all general disk and organisational operations. This screen contains following: The info panel details your system's capacities. It details the maximum amount of memory your system offers, not the amount of free memory at the moment. 10.1. SCRIPT CONTROL Here you can save the demo, consisting of effects, data and lists. You can save the demo without all data (graphics. music etc.), just with the paths and file names of the data, s that when you reload the script all can be found and included automatically. This saves loads of disk space, but can be a bother if you have to find the datas on loads of disks first or if you want to pass on the script to a friend. When loading the data you will also have to remember to include the FULL path. lf working with numerous disks you shouldn't load a file with 'DF0:picture.iff, but with 'PlCTURES:picture. iff (if the respective disk is called Pictures). Thsi could otherwise cause problems trying to retrieve data from various disks for a script. In such cases it is much easier to save your work as a MODULE (do not confuse this with the effect modules). This will save the script and all the necesssary files together. Of course this saved file is somwhat larger, but you can be sure you won't be missing any important data. The most important possibility is to save a DemoManiac demo as an EXECUTABLE file onto a disk or hard disk. This is a stand-alone, from Workbench or Shell executable programme. A demo that has been saved as an executable can't be reloaded into DemoManiac and thus also not re-edited. You should always keep a copy of your script or module if you want to continue work on your demo at a later date. We tried to keep the executable files generated by DemoManiac as short (in Kb) as possible, but we do suggest you still crunch it with one of the standard crunchers such as PowerPacker, Imploder, Titanics Cruncher etc. Another form of saving an executable demo is saving as BootB lock. The demo is saved directly onto the sectors of a disk and set so that it will automatically start when the disk is inserted in the drive - without a startup-sequence or other files being necessary. The only disadvatage is that all data previously on the said disk will be deleted. 10.2 EFFECTS CONTROL Apart from the script commands the general screen also contains possibilities to alter the effect list (lisr of all available effect modules). This becomes necessary when you want to include new effects into your system; these can either be ones you have programmed yourself or effects from future update or expansion disks. When adding new effects, all you have to do is copy them into your DM effects directory, press 'ADD EFFECT and they will automatically be added to your list of effects. 'SHOW EFFECTS' lists all available effects. To delete an effect from the list use the function 'REMOVE EFFECT'. This function is doubly secured as it is terminal. All changes to the effect list have to be saved by selecting 'SAVE EFFECT-LIST'. This will save your changes on disk or hard disk respectively. 10.3 DISK CONTROL These commands are included to save you the job of having to enter the Workbench or CLI for small file operations. 'CHECK FlLE' tries to recognise the type of file (text, graphics, effect module, script etc.) and 'SHOW FILE' will show the file. 11. THE MENUS The menus are sorted the same way as the various editors. Each editor has its corresponding menu that includes all the functions you can reach using the gadgets, but also often contain further functions, too. A very important , one for instance is the 'Record Time' function in the Construction menu. lt allows you to change the length of a pattern by clicking on the mouse button at the chosen moment instead of having to enter the number in the TIME parameter manually. lt's very simple to use: Once you have selected the 'Record Time' function the pattern begins to run as usual. Let it run until you feel it should switch to the next pattern in the actual demo (for instance a rhythm change in the music) and then press the left mouse button. The time passed will automatically be entered in the TIME parameter. DEMOMANIAC - PAGE 22 - CODE:3328 A similar possibility has been included for the whole script. The 'Record Times' function here starts the script and runs as it is supposed to. meaning times will be used as set (this is why it is only possible to lengthen the times). Press the left mouse button to shorten the playing time of a certain pattern and the new time will be saved. When you rerun the pattern from the beginning this new time setting will be used. All other functions in the menu should be easy to understand. 12. LIMITATIONS DemoManiac tries to leave you as much freedom as possible when making demos, but naturally there are certain limitations and knowing what they are is very useful and important. The most important limitation is set by your computer system's memory - especially the graphics memory (called Chip Mem). The rule here is that you can almost never have enough. As a programmer you are often given the choice between memory consumption and speed and when developing DemoManiac we decide to produce the most flexible and also fastest demomaker on the market. So we decided to use an extra few bytes and instead have the highest possible speed. It will always require more memory to produce the demo than to actually watch it. The first limitation is memory, the second are bitplanes. DemoManiac uses the bitplane system of the Amiga hardware. This way each effect that is shown on the monitor gets its own bitplanes and can be presented without loss of speed. There is just one problem: The Amiga can only handle a maximum of 8 bitplanes and on an old (non-AGA) machine you can only present 5 bitplanes. This means you can't place as many effects over each other as you want even if you have empty layers. An effect with 2 colours uses one bitplane, an effect with 4 colours uses 2 bitplanes, 8 colours 3 bitplanes and 16 colours 4. 32 colours use 5 bitplanes and 64 require 6. 128 colour effects require 7 and 256 colour effects the full 8 bitplanes. This means a four coloured stars effect (2 planes) and a 8 coloured font (3 planes) already use up a standard Amigas 5 bitplanes. If we have now confused you, don't worry . You will notice what is meant when playing around with the demo maker . 13. REPLAYERS The replayers we have included all have different characteristics we would like to list: NoisePackerV3 : Quite old. NoiseTrackerV2 : To be used with very old modules. DEMOMANIAC - PAGE 23 - CODE:3966 SoundTrackerV2 : For old songs, doesn't support CIA-timing. SoundTrackerV2.6 : For old songs, doesn't support CIA-timing. StarTrekker4v : Getting a bit long in the tooth ... ProTrackerV1-V3 : This are the original replayers. ProPackerV2 : Can play modules packed with the ProPacker. Warning: Unpacked sounds will cause this player to crash. ProPackerV2Fx : At the moment the only replayer that allow you to play music and sound effects simultaneously , ProRunnerV2 : A good replayer for ProTracker music. The module is automatically packed after loading and is kept and played packed. This replayer also allow music fading! TrackerPackerV3 : The standard DemoManiac player! It plays programmes packed with TrackerPacker, supports CIA-timing and music fading. NONE : This isn't really a replayer as it can't play any modules. It can play sound effects as is basically for use in demos you just require sound effects, it's fine. It supports music fading and will thus fade any active sound effects. As you see there isn't really a replayer that has all the features you would wish for (playing packed songs, ProTracker compatible, CIA-timing, sound fading, sound effects and speed). 14. INTERNAL ... DemoManiac's modular system works following way. Each drawer contains data of just the one type (for instance effects in the DM_effects drawer). This drawer also has to be assigned so that the data can found either on disk or hard disk. Example: You need to assign the DM_effects drawer that you have placed in the work:multimedia/demomaniac/ drive, then you have to include following: Assign DM_effects: work:multimedia/demomanic/dm_effects DEMOMANIAC - PAGE 24 - CODE:4034 All these assigns will actually be done by the included batch datafile. DemoManiac just looks for 'DM_effects:xxx' which means it will accept any effect disk with the 'DM_effetcs' name. You this way can have numerous disks with the same name and can collect large amounts of effects even when you only have a one-disk system. A file called 'effects.1st' has to be in the main effects directory (requested when booting DemoManiac) that lists all the available files. This saves the computer having to scan the directory for files everytime you boot up. 15. YOUR OWN EFFECTS It's possible to include your own assembler-coded effects. The developer documentation will be given to registered users on request. All effects programmed according to the developer documentation are automatically joint copyright of Black Legend UK Ltd. and the developer/programmer himself. This means the effects aren't PD.! Please send any effects you develop to Black Legend so we can include them on our expansion disks and give them a worldwide market! 16. BUG REPORTS AND SUGGESTIONS If you find programme errors ew would be very greatful if you could inform us. WITH THE STATE OF THE PROGRAM THAT IS ON SALE AT THE MOMENT YOU WOULD NEED A LOT OF PAPER TO WRITE DOWN ALL OF THE BUGS DemoManiac is an on-going project and will be expanded (hopefully a working version first) and improved with update and expansion disk; if possible your suggestions will be used and included for these. 17. REGISTRATION To make sure you are informed about update disks, extra effects and multimedia clipart (graphics, fonts and music ) you have to return the registration card as soon as possible. (Registration card not supplied.) Please describe the hardware you are using as detailed as possibble so we can also support the kind of extensions you have. We hope you enjoy DemoManiac, Signed ... 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