What it does
How to Install
Controls
FAQ
Versions
Questions
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Wreckage
What it does
Wreckage ruins pictures. It does so by throwing away most of the
pixels in an image, then reconstructing what remains with flawed
methods.
How to install
To use this software, you need a paint program which accepts standard
Photoshop 3.0 plugins.
Just put the plug-in filter into the folder where your paint program
expects to find it. If you have Photoshop, the folder is Photoshop:Plugins:Filters or Photoshop:Plug-ins. You must restart
Photoshop before it will notice the new plug-in. It will appear
in the menus as Filters->Flaming Pear->Wreckage.
Most other paint programs follow a similar scheme.
If you have Paint Shop Pro: you have to create a new folder, put
the plug-in filter into it, and then tell PSP to look there. In
PSP's menus, choose File-> Preferences->General Program Preferences (PSP versions
5 and 6) or File->Preferences->File Locations (PSP version 7).
Next, click the Plug-in Filters tab. Use a "Browse" button to
choose the folder. The plugin will appear in the menus as Image->Plug-in
Filters->Flaming Pear->Wreckage.
Controls
When you invoke Wreckage, a dialog box will appear:

Quick start
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If you just want to see some effects quickly, click the dice button
until you see something you like; then click OK.
Using the dice is the easiest way to use Wreckage. If you want
to hand-tune your own effects, it helps to learn the controls,
which are arranged into two groups. There are skeleton controls for choosing which pixels are used as the basis of the
new picture, and 'reconstruction controls to influence the way the final picture is rebuilt from
the skeleton.
Skeleton
Reconstruction
...and there are some other controls that affect the whole image. |
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dice
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Skeleton
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Edges:
Pixels can join the skeleton if they fall on a contrasty edge
in the original picture. The edges slider lets you choose how
strong an edge is sufficient.
The Pattern popup lets you add extra pixels to the skeleton. There are eight patterns.
Each one reacts differently to the Tweak 1 and Tweak 2 sliders.
none -- no extra pixels get added to the skeleton.
speckle -- a uniform random haze of pixels.
Tweak 1 density of the haze
Tweak 2 not used
speckle centered -- a haze of pixels that's dense at the center and tapers off
at the periphery. Click on the preview to choose the center point.
click on preview -- sets the center of the haze
Tweak 1 density of the haze
Tweak 2 density falloff
rays centered -- radiating lines. Click on the preview to choose the center
point.
Tweak 1 number of rays
Tweak 2 twirliness of rays
hex -- radiating lines.
Tweak 1 scale of pattern
Tweak 2 spin of pattern
maze -- a maze of straight lines.
Tweak 1 scale of pattern
Tweak 2 spin of pattern
stripes --parallel straight lines.
Tweak 1 spacing of lines
Tweak 2 angle of lines
shards --irregular angular clumps.
Tweak 1 scale of the clumps
Tweak 2 solidity of the pattern
contours -- lines of equal brightness. Works best on images without lots
of fussy detail.
Tweak 1 number of contours
Tweak 2 shifts the exact placement of the contours
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original image

contours skeleton

wrecked
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Reconstruction
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Once the skeleton is chosen, Wreckage spreads its colors into
the surrounding areas.
Type
The colors can spread in a blurry way, a harsh blocky way, or
a wrong way that chooses colors from inappropriate places.
Bias
If bias is anything other than 'normal', the colors spread more
eagerly in certain directions than others, giving the picture
a vaguely lopsided look.
Warp
Ordinarily the reconstruction of the picture takes place on an
regular square pixel grid. You can choose instead to have Wreckage
bend the picture out of shape, reconstruct it, then bend it back.
This makes the picture streaky and ruins the resolution.
Mode
Leaky mode smears colors a lot. Airtight mode produces a more
opaque look. |
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blocky type

splotchy bias

wobbly warp

airtight
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A frequently asked question
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Why is the picture all black?
Probably the controls are set so that there's no skeleton at all.
Try increasing the Edges slider, and choose a pattern other than
'none.'
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Other controls
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Dice The dice choose a random effect. Click as much as you want to
see different effects.
Glue mode popup menu Lets you combine the result with the underlying image in various
ways. Modes other than "normal" produce special effects.
Plus, % and minus buttons: If the selected image area is larger than the preview
are, these buttons will let you zoom in and out. You can also
reposition the preview by dragging it around; your cursor will
turn into a hand.
Load preset Wreckage comes with some presets, which are files containing
settings. To load one, click this button and browse for a preset
file.
Save preset When you make an effect you like, click this button to save the
settings in a file.
Undo backs up one step.
OK Applies the effect to your image.
Cancel Dismisses the filter, and leaves the image unchanged. |
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dice

load preset (top)
and save preset

undo
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Hints
Wreckage works best on a picture are simple enough to retain recongnizability
when degraded.
Wreckage is slow. You can turn off the "Auto preview" checkbox
if you want to change several controls without waiting for the
picture to refresh for each of them. |
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Version History
Version 1.0 March 2003
The first release. |
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Questions
Answers to common technical questions appear on the support page.
For bug reports and technical questions about the software, please
write to support@flamingpear.com .
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