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StarShip 5 MINUTE Weekend Newscast (1993 07 30)
Welcome to the
____
/ ___) *StarShip* 5-MINUTE Weekend Newscast
/ (_ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
/ ___)
/ (__ very weekend the *StarShip* on GEnie presents a new 5-MINUTE Weekend
(_____) Newscast in Communications Room 10 in the Real-Time Conference Area.
Featuring late-breaking stories from the Amiga community, these dynamic,
scrolling newscasts cycle every 5 minutes, so you can stop by between 6PM and
3AM Eastern time on Friday, or 3PM and 3AM Eastern time on Saturday or Sunday
and learn everything that happened during the preceding week. Industry news,
product announcements, upgrades, rumors, special *StarShip* activities, trade
show reports, GEnie usage tips, humor, recommended files to download...
... the works -- and it ONLY takes 5 minutes!
Each 5-MINUTE Weekend Newscast is available on *StarShip* Menu #10 during the
following week. Periodically, newscasts are combined and made available for
downloading from the *StarShip* Library.
____________________________________________________________
// \
|| -*- IMPORTANT! -*- |
|| |
|| As long as individual stories are kept intact and credit |
|| is given, this material may be reproduced in ALL or PART |
|| on a privately owned BBS or in a user group newsletter. |
|| See wording for proper credit at the end of this Newscast. |
\\____________________________________________________________/
|| |
|| |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Many thanks to Denny Atkin
of COMPUTE Magazine
for his generous input.
Here we go!...
DateLine: July 30, 1993
This 5-MINUTE Newscast presents the following stories:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Commodore UK Introduces 32-bit CD Console: CD32
2. COMPUTE Drops Amiga Resource Section
3. CD-ROM Based Fish?
4. Hot Summer Nights on the *StarShip*
5. ImageFX 1.5 Now Shipping
6. New Features of Imagine v3.0 from Impulse
7. CONNECT Magazine -- Table of Contents -- July/August 1993
*StarShip* NEWS *Flash*
1st of 7 Stories
Commodore UK Introduces 32-bit CD Console: CD32
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"We could bring a 32-bit console out tomorrow...
but the problem is the price -- and I don't think
that problem will be solved this year or next year."
______ -Sega US, June 1993
(__ __) Great Britain -- June 16, 1993
/ /
/ /
(_/he machine of "tomorrow, this year, and next year" is here now.
Commodore's Amiga CD32, the world's first 32-bit CD console is officially
launched today.
Incredibly it retails for just GBP 299.99 (US $400.00).
The launch leaves Sega, with its price problems, and Nintendo, with no
discernable interest in developing a CD console, trailing in the dust.
And it sets up this ground-breaking new games machine to take the world by
storm when it hits the shelves worldwide at the end of August.
David Pleasance, Commodore UK's joint managing director, said, "The Amiga
CD32 simply blows away the opposition. It's considerably more powerful, has
better software support and, best of all, costs less."
Third party software publishers are united in their support for the CD32.
They include, among others, Gremlin, Millenium, Ocean Software, Psygnosis,
Team 17, Mindscape, and Virgin Games.
The top loading Amiga CD32 comes with an 11 button joypad. This tiny
(approximately A4-size) [thats 8.5" x 11" to us yanks -Quarters] machine is
packed with computing power.
It includes the Motorolla 68020 processor and comes complete with 2 Megabytes
of RAM.
The internal "engine" is based on the same AGA chipset which has established
Commodore's Amiga 1200 home computer as the UK's market leader.
So, like the Amiga 1200, it is capable of displaying 256,000 colors on screen
from a total palette of 16.8 million colors. That's hugely superior to any
existing games CD player.
The console also has a built-in operating system (Commodore's own Amiga
"Workbench") which means it can be expanded into a fully functioning
computer.
The machine can also play audio CDs, CD + Graphics, and Commodore's CDTV
format. It contains an expansion capability for Full Motion Video based on
the world standard MPEG.
For more information, see *StarShip* Bulletin Board CATegory 19, Topic 41. A
digitized photo is available in Library File #20302 CD32.JPG.
-*-
*StarShip* NEWS *Flash*
2nd of 7 Stories
COMPUTE Drops Amiga Resource Section
______ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
/ __ ) Greensboro, NC -- July 29, 1993
/ / ) /
/ /__/ /
(______/ear Amiga Resource Subscriber,
Due to a general slowdown in the U.S. Amiga market, COMPUTE has had to make
the difficult decision to discontinue our Amiga coverage. The September 1993
issue will be the last one containing the special Amiga Resource section.
Of course, much of COMPUTE is of interest to owners of all computer models.
Every month, COMPUTE will continue to bring you the latest computing news,
home business management advice, and tips on the best buys for peripherals
and accessories -- many of which (such as printers, hard drives, and
monitors) are Amiga-compatible.
You may have access to IBM-compatible computers as well as your Amiga, or
perhaps you have a Bridgeboard or other IBM emulator. Or maybe you've been
considering investing a PC clone to supplement your Amiga system. You'll find
that COMPUTE is a must-have source of news, technical advice, and product
evaluations for the MS-DOS computing market.
As always, your satisfaction is guaranteed: If you're ever unhappy with
COMPUTE, simply let us know and we'll cancel your subscription and send you a
refund for all unmailed copies.
Sincerely,
COMPUTE Publications
[*StarShip* News Note: Denny Atkin, (former) editor of COMPUTE's Amiga
Resource, may be contacted in *StarShip* Bulletin Board CATegory 15, Topic 7,
or by GE Mail to DENNYA.]
-*-
*StarShip* NEWS *Flash*
3rd of 7 Stories
CD-ROM Based Fish?
____ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(_ _) by Fred Fish
/ / Tempe, AZ July 23, 1993
_/ /
(____) am considering a possible radical change to the way the current
library works, and would like to bounce it off the user community to gauge
the interest level, gather suggestions, etc.
For the last couple of years, I have been regularly asked why I don't
distribute the library directly on CD-ROM, rather than floppy disks. I'm
starting to think that this may be the right time to consider switching from
a floppy based distribution to a CD-ROM based distribution.
First of all, the price of CD-ROM drives have dropped dramatically over the
last couple of years, and the cost of producing CD-ROM disks has dropped as
well, to the point where it might actually be cheaper to do a monthly CD-ROM
than to maintain the current floppy distributions of 10 disks every 3 to 4
weeks.
The current cost of a floppy based subscription averages about $40/month.
Depending upon quantity, the cost to subscribers for a CD-ROM distribution on
a monthly basis could be in the $20-$30 range, with vastly increased limits
on the amount of new material that could be distributed each month. With
CD-ROM distributions I could easily include material that I now have to
routinely reject because of size considerations. The material could be
organized in a more natural manner, along subject lines, like separate
directories for demos, games, utilities, animations, etc. There would also be
no need to pack any of the material, it could be distributed "ready to run"
regardless of size (assuming no 300Mb animations of course).
The way I envision a CD-ROM distribution channel working is that each monthly
CD-ROM release would contain some fraction of older material that has
appeared on a previous monthly CD-ROM, along with the current months new
material. As space is needed for new material, the older material would be
deleted, on a first in - first out basis. Thus there would be a significant
overlap in the contents of each successive disk, with the amount of overlap
depending upon the quantity of new material appearing on each CD-ROM.
Subscribers could elect to receive a new CD-ROM every month, every two
months, every three months, etc, according to their needs, and probably not
miss any material as long as the interval doesn't extend past 5-6 months,
assuming up to 100Mb of new material every month.
It would help me a lot to decide how feasible a CD-ROM distribution might be
if people interested in receiving the library directly on CD-ROM could fill
out the following short questionaire and either email it or send a hardcopy
back to:
Internet email to: fnf@fishpond.cygnus.com
[ *StarShip* News Note: to send Internet mail to Fred Fish
from GEnie, add @INET#: fnf@fishpond.cygnus.com@INET# ]
or hardcopy to: Fred Fish
1835 E. Belmont Drive
Tempe, AZ 85284 USA
Please feel free to repost this message to other electronic services. Thanks.
-Fred
===========================================================================
CD-ROM Distribution Questionaire
(1) I would be interested in receiving the library directly on CD-ROM:
(1) [ ] Yes
(1) [ ] No
(1) [ ] Check here if you are a subscriber for the floppy distribution.
(2) I would have to purchase a CD-ROM drive to be able to make use of
a CD-ROM distribution:
(2) [ ] Yes
(2) [ ] No
(3) I would subscribe to a CD-ROM based distribution only if the price
per CD-ROM disk was (check all that apply):
(3) [ ] $20 or less
(3) [ ] $30 or less
(3) [ ] $40 or less
(3) [ ] $50 or less
(4) I would be most interested in receiving a new CD-ROM disk every:
(4) [ ] month (each new CD-ROM disk as released)
(4) [ ] 2 months (every other CD-ROM disk)
(4) [ ] 3 months (every third CD-ROM disk)
(4) [ ] 4 months or longer
(4) [ ] on demand (I'll order each one when I want it)
(5) I would like to be placed on a direct email or hardcopy mailing list
for further future information (fill out either or both addresses
below, as desired):
email address: joeblow@nowhere.com
[*StarShip* News Note: Simply add @genie.geis.com to your GE Mail
address to get your Internet mail address.]
hardcopy address: Joe Blow
Nowhere, USA
(6) Other comments, suggestions, etc:
===========================================================================
-*-
*StarShip* NEWS *Flash*
4th of 7 Stories
_ Hot Summer Nights on the *StarShip*
/ \ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
/ - \
/ ___ \
(_/ \_)ll Conferences start at 10PM Eastern Time in the *StarShip*
Real-Time Conference Rooms (Menu Option #2 on Page 555) unless otherwise
noted! Amiga programmers meet each Wednesday at 10PM EDT in the Pro/Am
RoundTable Conference Rooms on Page 670.
___________________________________________________________________________
| |
| August 1993 *StarShip* Hot Summer Games Schedule |
|___________________________________________________________________________|
| Monday | Tuesday |Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| | | | | | | |
| Telecomm | Music | AmiGames |Multimedia| Graphics| Party! | Surprise |
|__________|__________|__________|__________|_________|__________|__________|
| . . 5-MINUTE Weekend News . . |
| Your *StarShip* Hot Summer Games Hosts | 1 |
| New Hours |Open House|
| NTN Trivia: SideWinder Every Night | with |
| Poker: AIRIOCH BLUE-KNIGHT WINTERLORN Amiga HelpDesks |*StarShip*|
| AirWarrior: GHOST.RIDER & D.SCHAEFER4 9 PM EDT & 9 PM PDT| Staff |
|________________________________________________________________|__________|
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| | | | NEW | . . 5-MINUTE Weekend News . . |
|MultiPlayer The | Psygnosis| Digital |All New | How Good | Amiga in |
| GEnie | HOTTEST | in | Micronics| Amiga | Are You | Industry |
|Games Intro MODS |Conference| Graphics |Graphics | At Amiga |w/ Bob |
|Poker Nite|CountDown | | Hardware | Night | Trivia? | Lindstrom|
|__________|__________|__________|__________|_________|__________|__________|
| 9 TRIVIA| 10 WEEK | 11 in NTN| 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| ~~~~~~|~~~~~~~~~~|~~~~~~~~~~| | . . 5-MINUTE Weekend News . . |
|Aladdin |Bars'n | Randy | LightWave| ADPro | |FinalCopy |
| Night | Pipes | Chase | Night |MorphPlus| Play | with |
|Save Time |Night w/ | on | w/ Mark |*Tonight*| Jumblez |Softwood's|
| Online |BlueRibbon| Games | Thompson |w/ ASDG | |Jim Curlee|
|__________|__________|__________|__________|_________|__________|__________|
| 16 POKER | 17 WEEK | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| ~~~~~~|~~~~~~~~~~| | | . . 5-MINUTE Weekend News . . |
|Telecomm | Elec Arts| Accursed | HELM |Brilliance |DEEPMODEM |
| | Releases| Toys |Fantastic | Night | Can You |Tells ALL |
| Night |Deluxe |Stephen & | New |w/Digital| Beat The | About |
| | Music II | Jennifer | Program! |Creations| Hangman? |Commodore |
|__________|__________|__________|__________|_________|__________|__________|
| 23 AIR WAR 24 WEEK | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
| ~~~~~~|~~~~~~~~~~| | | . . 5-MINUTE Weekend News . . |
|Internet |Dennis | Fighter | INOVA- | PEGGER |Current | Blonde |
| Answers | Brisson | Duel | tronics| |Amiga | Bombshell|
|with ANDY |AmigaWorld|w/Jaeger's| | All New |Events | in |
| | Editor |Matt Shaw | CanDo It | For You |Trivia |AIR WARRIOR
|__________|__________|__________|__________|_________|__________|__________|
| 30 | 31 | | Sep 3 | Sep 4 | Sep 5 |
| | MEET | New Hours | |
| Denny |Ed Mackey!| Every Night | . . 5-MINUTE Weekend News . . |
| Atkin |He's "Mr. | Amiga HelpDesks | All Four Days of |
| |EdPlayer" | | Labor Day Weekend |
| |for MODS | 9 PM EDT & 9 PM PDT | GEnie Holiday Mon Sep 6! |
|__________|__________|_____________________|_______________________________|
| Monday | Tuesday |Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| Telecomm | Music | AmiGames |Multimedia| Graphics| Party! | Features |
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Monday August 2nd
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meet GEnie games players and developers in this introduction to GEnie's
graphical front ended multiplayer games night!
Then LATER ...It's Poker Night!
Play RSCARDS Poker with other Amiga owners! Download the RSCARDS Graphical
Front End (FE) from Menu Item #15 on Page 555.
Tuesday August 3rd
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SideWinder hosts a special night of some of the best and most extraordinary
computer music anywhere. He counts down the best of the MODs, just for you!
Wednesday August 4
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The people who put those little adorable green lemmings into your computer
are coming to GEnie tonight! That's right, Psygnosis, leading developer of
games, joins us in our AmiGames conference to talk about ....
[whups, I can't tell!]
Thursday August 5
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yury's guest tonight is Rick Tillery from Digital Micronics. They'll be
talking about their Amiga Video and graphics hardware, and announcing a BRAND
New product!
Friday August 6
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The brand new Amiga Graphics night opens for business tonight with the same
friendly faces. Join Syl and other Amiga artists to kick off this new night,
and learn all about the plans for guests for the rest of the month!
Saturday August 7
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The *StarShip* begins it's weekly fun and games night with a rousing round of
Amiga Trivia. Come and see how you score. Prizes, you say? Why, of COURSE!
You might win free time online on GEnie!
A special Amiga Trivia game will be held right in our Real-Time Conference
tonight. No special software is needed to play. Just you, your Amiga and your
wits!
Sunday August 8
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bob Lindstrom brings his love of the Amiga and his expertise in the ever-
changing computing industry right to our doorstep. Bob pounds the personal
computing beat for Reuters New Service, which is available here on GEnie.
Come and visit with him about where the Amiga is in today's market and where
it might be headed.
________________________________
/ \
Fun & Games & Great Amiga Info | GEnie's Amiga Multiplayer Games |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | Graphical Front End Software |
Throughout the MONTH of August | and Sample Screen Shots are |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | available for downloading from |
____________________________________| Menu Option #15 on the Main |
/ | *StarShip* Menu, Page 555. |
| You Won't BELIEVE Your Eyes! \________________________________/
| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
| A super *special* AmigaGuide version of the *StarShip* |
| Hot Summer Games August calendar is available in the |
| *StarShip* Library, and you've never seen a AmigaGuide |
| application like it! Download your choice: |
| |
| 20439 HOTSUMMERFOR3.0GUIDE.LZH :For AmigaDOS 3.0 |
| 20449 HOTSUMMER.GUIDE.LZH :For AmigaDOS 1.3/2.+ |
| |
| Point-and-click access to oodles of wondrous games/people |
| info and stories in slick hypertext format! Grab it! |
\___________________________________________________________/
-*-
*StarShip* NEWS *Flash*
5th of 7 Stories
_____ ImageFX 1.5 Now Shipping
/ ____) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
/ /___ King of Prussia, PA -- July 23rd, 1993
/ /( )
/ (__) /
(______/VP announced today that it has started shipping version 1.5 upgrades
for their ImageFX software.
While one might expect to pay dearly for such an upgrade, Great Valley
Products will continue to support their "power to the people" approach by
offering this new version to registered users at only $29.95!
This notice also serves as a brief list of the many added features and
improvements to the ImageFX since the previous version 1.03. These features
are listed below.
Faster Speed Throughout!
ImageFX has been optimized throughout to provide faster operations and
reduced code size to increase your productivity and enjoyment of this
software.
One outstanding example of this is ImageFX's virtual memory handling. Virtual
memory has been dramatically improved and optimized so that it's many times
faster than it was before.
Gigamem Compatibility!
GigaMem compatibility has been added to ImageFX. GigaMem is a virtual memory
package designed for MMU equipped Amigas. ImageFX can now run under Gigamem
fully -- giving you even more flexibility.
Image and Animation Viewing!
ViewTek, the most popular image and animation viewing program for the Amiga,
(running Workbench 2.04 or higher) is now included with ImageFX. You have to
look no further to show off your ImageFX images or CineMorph animations to
your friends. ViewTek does this easily for you -- even for the new AGA mode
graphics!
MAGIC!
No, we're not talking parlor tricks here, but a new system that allows
applications to share images, in memory, with one another in order to reduce
memory overhead when multitasking several graphics programs at the same time.
MAGIC (Multi-Application Graphic Image Communications) is being made
available with this release of ImageFX and may be included at no charge in
other applications. Many other developers of 24bit applications are planning
MAGIC support as well. This will be a public standard available to all.
New Scanners!
ImageFX now features the best available support for the Epson 300c, and
Epson's new top of the line 600/800 series scanners including the new
transparency unit and the automatic document feeder. There are two new
framegrabber modules for Macrosystem's VLAB and Progressive Peripherals &
Software's Framegrabber 256 that have been added as well.
Palette!
A new feature has been added to give you the ability to have multiple drawing
palettes. These can be preloaded by your startup script, or you can load
palettes directly into any of them. You can even choose to load a palette
from the dozens of pre-created palettes that have been newly added to give
you sets of colors for watercolors, chalk, felt-tip markers as well as many
other interesting, and some abstract, color selections.
Toolkit!
The toolkit's new aspect locked preview mode will benefit users enormously.
This is available in all of the available previews (Amiga, IV24, etc) and it
is used to keep your image's aspect correct while you are editing or creating
the image. If you are working on an image for an 8.5" x 11" page, the image
will now be taller than it is wide. By using this you can tell precisely what
your artwork will look like when output.
ImageFX's new macro recording allows you to automatically create ARexx
scripts that can be used from ImageFX to apply any series of operations over
and over. Use of macro recording can practically eliminate the need for
programming ARexx scripts for batch operations, and for programmers it can
greatly reduce development time for special projects.
Multiple level UNDO handling has been added. While all other image processing
software allows only one UNDO level (if any at all), ImageFX allows you to
reverse and remove the effects of several operations -- as many as you like!
Tablet support with pressure sensitivity has been added for users of the
Wacom and Cal-Comp drawing tablets supplied by Tri-Media. You can now draw
using either of these tablets and use pressure to affects the amount of "ink"
or "paint" applied during drawing operations. A fantastic tool for artists!
ImageFX has many new and improved drawing and airbrush tools. Most important
is the dramatic improvement in ImageFX's real time feedback for nearly every
drawing tool. There are new controls and drawing modes that allow you to
simulate real world painting effects such as felt tip pens, crayons, and much
more with just a few simple settings. ImageFX's new Pantograph drawing mode
allows you to easily copy portions of the image into one another with ease.
Image compositing has been sped up greatly, and new controls have been added
to give you more tools for merging images together. You can now easily merge
two images together and apply a texture, perhaps a rough paper, automatically
by using the new alpha channel compositing modes.
Dozens of new sample custom convolves have been added to this release to
better demonstrate the use of this powerful image processing tool. These
include new blurring tools, special effects, and much more.
Loaders/Savers!
There are new loaders and savers galore for ImageFX 1.5! Many of the existing
modules have also been enhanced to speed them up and support more variations.
These modules include; ANIM7, FAXX, SGI, FLI/FLC, IMG8, JPEG, MacPaint, QRT,
DKB, POV, Sculpt, Targa, TIFF, YUVN, DPIIE, .info (Amiga Icon), PCX, and the
Rendition Alpha format.
ImageFX can also now detect the special "MacBinary" headers placed on some
images by Macintosh computers and will automatically remove them to let you
load an even greater range of images. A feature only offered in ImageFX!
Special thanks to John Foust of Syndesis for this feature.
Image Rendering!
The following modules have been added or enhanced in ImageFX; DCTV, EGS,
IV24, Retina, and OpalVision.
A new method of color "quantizing", or color selection, developed by Steve
Tibbett has been added to ImageFX. This new system can pick colors for images
with large areas of color gradients much more accurately than any other
system of color selection.
A new method of dithering, known as ordered dithering, has been added to
ImageFX for color operations. Formerly available only for greyscale images,
this dither creates a more stable pattern in the image which can make
animations created with ImageFX much more compact.
Preview Displays!
Three new preview modules have been added to ImageFX. You can now work on
DCTV, OpalVision, or use the new SuperAmiga preview to preview on any Amiga
screen at any depth... even for the new Amiga AGA modes and beyond!
Printer Modules!
The PostScript printing module now produces PostScript level 2 compatible
output, and includes more robust error handling. A thumbnail version of the
image in TIFF format has also been implemented for cross platform uses.
The new PREFS2 printing module uses less memory, is easier to control, and
has been improved to offer significantly better output than any other
competing package. You can easily achieve high quality 8 bit accurate
greyscale printing and 24 bit accurate color printing from any properly
implemented Preferences printer!
Hooks!
IMP has been improved and now allows you to select the output animation
format via. the "Anim Format" and "Anim Options" pull down menus. This makes
the process of creating animations easier than ever!
This ImageFX hook version of CineMorph has been updated and can now save
animations to the regular ANIM format, the new ANIM7 format, and flick (.FLC)
format animations.
Two new hooks; Deinterlace and Interlace, can be used by video professionals
for separating and integrating video fields for high end video work.
Blackout, another new hook program, allows users of the Hewlett Packard
Deskjet 500c to separate the black component from their images so they can
easily make two pass color printouts with much improved color reproduction.
Acclaim from the Press!
We've told you a lot about the new ImageFX and all of it's many features.
Here's what the press has been saying about the previous ImageFX:
"...for my money ImageFX has more power and features. ...I recommend
ImageFX - nothing else quite compares."
Video Toaster User, August/September 1993
"I feel the program's CineMorph module represents the most elegant morph
solution of the three (competing morph packages)."
AmigaWorld, May 1993
"(ImageFX) has to be the best image-processing system so far on the Amiga."
Amiga Format, April 1993
"(ImageFX's) IMP is nothing short of a dream come true...The virtual memory
option (in ImageFX) is nothing short of a masterstroke..."
Amiga Computing, February 1993
-*-
*StarShip* NEWS *Flash*
6th of 7 Stories
New Features of Imagine v3.0 from Impulse
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
_ _ From the "Impulse Graphics World" Newsletter
/ \ / ) Dated: Summer 1993
/ \/ /
/ /\ /
(_/ \_/ew Features of Imagine v3.0 include:
BONES: This amazing function will allow you to build a skeleton that you
will associate to the object that you want to manipulate in a smooth method,
unlike the process that is now used in the cycle editor.
BRUSH TACKING: Presently when you wrap a brush to any object you can not
morph that object and retain the position of the brush on that object. The
brush stays at the same position in the real world while the object moves.
Very confusing and not real handy. Now with Brush Tacking, brushes or
pictures will be mapped directly to each face of the object, so that when
that face moves, the part of the brush that was tacked to the face will move
with the face. Doing things like snake skin and then animating the snake with
the Bones function will make the snake look real. No more sliding textures.
KINEMATIC MOVEMENTS: There are several high end software products that have
this feature. Now Imagine 3.0 has the feature as well. Kinematics in its
truest form is the study of motion, and how things move. Within the cycle
editor we have had a form of Kinematics without the more intelligent
association of the hierachical relation of the objects that are in the cycle
group. Now with the new Kinematic information you can contstrain movements so
that when you move some portion of the group the other objects will be less
or more effected by one single movement. Making more realistic cycles will
now be possible.
FONT AND IMAGE EDITOR: Over the years it has become apparent that many of
you make your living creating what we have all come to know as flying logos.
The only real problem with this has been that the conversion of images to
objects has lacked the kind detail needed to make the fonts and incoming
images as crisp as they need to be for professional use. Hence we have added
an entire new editor. The Font and Image editor will allow you to read
Postscript fonts as well as one bit plane images. The difference is the fact
that these objects will use splines to create the borders of the objects that
you create. This gives you much more detail and control over the object. Once
you have the object the way that you want it, you simply save it and load it
into the Detail editor to add its final touches, such as color and texture.
MOTION GRAPHICS: It has been near impossible to create animation where
action occur at different rates. In the Action editor you could assign a
starting and ending speed to objects that travel along a path. But you could
apply only one set of numbers. Now with Motion Graphics you can deal with
each segment of the path as a different motion speed. Not only can you apply
more information to the path, you can also see what your doing by way of a
graphic motion sine wave display. No more tricky math calculations to
consider, just call up the actor and plot your graphs with the mouse.
HIERACHY CONTROL AND POP UP ACTION BARS IN THE STAGE: To say the least going
from one editor to the next can be a real pain. Now from the Stage you can
move any object no matter if it is part of a group or individual and stand
alone. Also from the Stage you can call up the Action bar directly so that
you don't have to go to the Action editor to make any changes. This gives you
total control over object movement. If you don't like the way an object is
moving, you don't have to go back to the Cycle editor to make these changes,
do it right in the Stage.
SOUND: Not just sound added to digital animations, but the ability to load
your sound track of music or voice right into the Action Editor. Instead of
making a guess at when things happen and trying blindly to time your
animation to a preset sound, now you can actually see when its happening and
make the changes in movement that correlated directly to the sound. The
incoming digital sound must be in certain formats, once in that format they
are loaded into the Action header bar for your viewing. You cannot edit here
the sound is for reference only.
AMIGA AA CHIP SET SUPPORT: For those of you with the new Amiga computers,
Imagine will now render in those formats that extend your computers visual
power.
IMPROVED ANTI-ALIASING: Jaggies just aren't any fun, and they don't look
good either. One of the most suggested improvements for Imagine has been to
make the anti-aliasing better. There is not much to say when it comes to the
improvements we have made here, it's another one of those "You must see it to
believe it" new features. Suffice it to say that you will appreciate this
improvement.
REAL TIME GRAPHICS: Other software vendors have offered a form of real time
or symbolic real time movement of objects or real time movement of the
camera. We have implemented these features into Imagine 3.0. In the
perspective window you can choose your movements based upon several viewing
options. You can then move things around in real time and see the results
more immediately. Caution. Real time is always misleading. In order to do
this real time the objects are given a more symbolic representation like
bounding boxes. This feature used in the Stage can create paths in real time,
which can then be followed by other objects as well as lights and the camera.
Also this new feature allows you to create your Key Cells on a much quicker
basis with a single key stroke.
DEFORMATIONS: It has always been fairly easy to deform objects, but to do
them in a perfect manner has eluded many users. Now with the new deformation
tools you will be able to. Twist, Taper, Bend, Shear and Pinch objects to
create even more unique and interesting objects as well as use them in some
very amazing animation effects. These deformations combined with Brush
Tacking will make animations that will move you to the next level of reality.
MATERIALS: We have long thought that there were two sets of properties which
aside from the shape of the object should be applied by you the user. Color,
specularity, reflectivity, refraction are all attributes, where as brush, and
textures and shaders are all properties that could better be called
Materials. Now instead of just a massive attribute editor we have broke it
down and enhanced the two separate editors. Materials stands alone so that
you can gain even finer control over your brushed brass pots and pans or
polished chessmen.
FORMS EDITOR ENHANCED: Now in the Forms editor you will be able to
manipulate the slices of the object with the new magnetism system. Each point
on the slice is a control point which you can move to create objects that
have just the right look and feel.
FIELD RENDERING: Digital animations are generally done by showing a frame at
a time or recording those frames directly to a single frame VCR. In most
cases these animations, depending on the amount of frames and the distance of
movement of the objects, can look very smooth. The truth is that due to the
fact that the human eye and brain function under a process called Persistence
of Vision, it fools you into seeing motion. This process however is discrete
enough to see a jerking or quickness to movement. With Field rendering, your
animations can be almost perfect completing the illusion of motion. When you
see field rendering you may never use frame animations again.
CAMERA AND LIGHT MARKERS: This feature makes it easier to visualize the
effect lights will have on your scene as well as what the camera is looking
at and just how much of the scene the camera is seeing. This feature is
accomplished by extending markers from the center of a light as well as the
camera. These markers form a triangle that shows the area of effect. Now as
you move lights and the camera you will have a very definite idea of what you
are lighting and what you are looking at.
APPLY: We took this feature out of Imagine when it had existed in Silver.
This command causes the information about the first object you pick in a
multi pick selection, to pass the attributes and materials of that object to
the other objects that have been picked. So now if you want to make all of
the objects in a scene have the same properties and attributes of one object
you simply use the Apply command.
MACROS: With Imagine 3.0 you can take even more control of the software.
Many of you have said that you find yourself performing many redundant tasks
that lend themselves to the concept of Macro recording and playback. So if
you find yourself doing the same thing over and over again, simply make it a
macro and just push a button to make those redundant tasks happen like magic.
PARTICLES: Among the newest features found in 3D software is the particle
system. Like most new features everyone has a different opinion of what a
particle system is. Simply put, Imagine particles are varied and are simple
to use, they can be morphed, brushed, textured, and animated. Even more to
the point they are very simple to use and don't slow the rendering process
down at all.
ALPHA CHANNEL SUPPORT: For video users and makers of great video fare, you
have asked for Alpha Channel Support so your life would be easier and less
complicated. To wit we have added for your using pleasure Alpha support. Even
if you don't make videos for a living you may find this new feature very
handy.
DEPTH OF FIELD: If you own a camera you already know what this new feature
is going to do for you. If you don't own a camera you may still know. If you
don't know, well here is a shot at an explanation. When you open the apeture
of a camera you increase the light that can hit the film plane, but you do so
at the expense of the lens to focus much beyond the object that you are
focused on. This can be a great thing for making that object stand out from
its environment. When you close the lens down you increase the focus of the
camera from point of focus to infinity. This means that the entire scene is
in focus. To date Imagine has had an infinite focused lens due entirely to
its digital nature. Now with Depth of Field you will be able to make your
images even more realistic.
LIGHT SOURCE CONTROLS: More creative control for you must also include more
dramatic control over lighting. In this area there are numerous new features.
Many of you have asked for a way to control not only the color of the light
but also its power. Now you can control how much of an area a particular
light has control over. The process is simple to use and the effects make an
even better photo-realistic image than previously possible. Other new
lighting features include: Light sources that have shape or dimension to them
like Light flowing through a venetian blind. Sure you can do these things
now but you have to go to all the trouble of setting up the blinds and
placing the light, just so. No more, now you can just click and render. Of
course we have also implemented the ever popular Soft edge light source and
for you real Scanline die hards (faster rendering of course) we have included
shadow mapping. This feature makes it possible to have shadows in Scanline as
well as Full Trace.
INFINITY: Well not really but for all intense and purposes we have added the
ability for you to have as many textures or image maps on any one object as
you want or your computer can handle. In doing this we have taken the Brush
and Texture options out of the Attributes requester and have given these
options their very own requester.
Imagine 3.0 has over 200 new features, a factoid for those of you keeping
track of that sort of thing. With all this quantity of new features we have
not cut any corners, making sure that Imagine meets and exceeds your needs
now and into the future.
Well here is the deal, if these new features have wetted your appetite and
you want to make sure that your order is placed for the 3.0 upgrade, well
then go for it. If on the other hand you want to sit back and wait to see
what other new features there are, OK so do that as well. There will be
another newsletter at the time of release that will give you a final
description of the features of Imagine 3.0. Imagine 3.0 is more than even
this newsletter can begin to expose you to in a few pages. If you have any
questions of course you can call and we will be glad to answer all your
queries.
Suggested Retail Price: $649.00
Upgrade from v2.0: $100.00
According to Impulse, "If all goes well, Imagine 3.0 will be shipping
sometime in the month of August, probably the latter part of the month."
Order#: 1-800-328-0184 (USA only.)
-*-
*StarShip* Amiga *Flash*
7th of 7 Stories
CONNECT Magazine -- Table of Contents
Vol. 1, No. 2 July/August 1993
Available at Newsstands NOW
FEATURES
The Evolution of Prodigy by Kathleen Creighton
Details the beginnings and expansion of the Prodigy service, from
the high expectations at its start to its recent controversies.
Navigators, An Overview by Jim Ness
How do you get around the online services inexpensively and
efficiently? Using navigators! The various navigation programs
available are discussed by the author.
Navigating DELPHI with Messenger-Lite for Macintosh by Ron Hunt
In this article, the author takes an in-depth look at the Macintosh
version of the Messenger-Lite navigator (recently renamed D-LITE)
for DELPHI.
A New Age in Computing by Rilla Moulden
Interested in astrology, mysticism or UFOs? The author shows you where
to meet others who share your interests on CompuServe. New Age support
on DELPHI and GEnie are also highlighted.
The GeoInfo Network by Kathleen Creighton
Here's a "down to earth" BBS network for earth scientists and anyone
interested in geology, geography, earthquakes and meteorology.
The Sierra Network by Bob Retelle
Gaming enthusiasts have an online service devoted just to them! The
Sierra Network offers interactive graphic games of almost any variety,
and you play against other callers real-time.
COLUMNS
The Inside Line
Editorial Columnist Michael A. Banks points out what's wrong with
online services today.
Eye on America Online
Columnist Julia Wilkinson shows what's new on America Online.
Connecting with CompuServe
For those times when you're away from home, Columnist Jim Ness gives
tips on how you can stay connected with CompuServe.
Telecomputing the DELPHI Way
Columnist Dick Evans tours the Groups and Clubs menu, shows how to
quickly navigate between SIGs, and discusses SIG similarities and
differences.
GEnie's Treasures
In keeping with this issue's topic of navigators, Columnist Jim Mallory
talks about GEnie's Aladdin for IBM/PC, Amiga and Atari computers.
The Internet Gateway
Columnist Paul Gilster delivers an excellent "quick reference guide" on
Internet service providers and how you can use them to get connected to
the world's largest computer internetwork.
Staying Connected for About a Pound
Getting online with the Sharp Wizard is covered by Columnist Marty
Mankins, who takes you step-by-step through the process of setting up
and using a Sharp organizer for telecomputing.
Clear to Send (CTS)
PC Columnist Victor Volkman takes a look at WinQwk, the latest BBS
offline message reader for users of Microsoft Windows 3.1.
Dial M for Macintosh
Macintosh Columnist Ross Scott Rubin looks at faxing on the Mac, and
where coming enhancements from Apple may lead.
-----
CONNECT magazine is available at the following magazine outlets: B.Dalton
Bookseller, Bookstop, Bookstar, Barnes & Noble, Doubleday, Scribner's, Crown
Books, Tower Books, Little Professor, Lichtman's News and Books, Coles Book
Stores, CompUSA, Computer City and Software Etc. chains, as well as other
chains and independent newsstands, book stores and computer dealers in the
U.S. and Canada. Call (313) 973-8825 to find the magazine dealer nearest you
who carries CONNECT.
CONNECT is a bi-monthly magazine covering the major commercial online
services (such as America Online, BIX, CompuServe, DELPHI, GEnie and
Prodigy), the Internet, and bulletin board system networks (such as Fidonet,
WWIVnet, and GlobalNet). The magazine is platform-independent, with columns
focusing on PC-specific (DOS and Windows), Macintosh-oriented, and
Palmtop/PDA-related topics. Each issue also contains an editorial column by
renowned telecomputing author Michael A. Banks. CONNECT currently has a
bi-monthly circulation of 65,000.
-*-
Over a GIGABYTE of Amiga files in our Library!
Catch your limit of Fred FISH Disks from the *StarFish* Library.
If you are after a SINGLE PROGRAM on a Fish Disk, SEARCH for it
before downloading the disk. Most are available separately!
_______________________________________________________________
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