DP Tool Club 25/CD_ASCQ_25_1095.iso/dos/graphic/dta22b19/dfv.doc

Text File | 1995-06-14 | 11KB | 279 lines

                       DFV (Dave's Flic Viewer)
                       Rel 1.2 beta  (06/14/95)
            Copyright (c) 1993, 1994, 1995 by David K. Mason

  DFV plays is a DOS-based flic-viewer which can display .FLI, .FLC,
  .FLX, .FLH, and .FLT animation files.  (and also .TGA and .PNG
  still images.)

  It should be able to handle any 320x200 .FLI you throw at it.
  If you've got a VESA-compliant SVGA or are running a VESA driver,
  then DFV will be able to display .FLC files with dimensions up to
  and including 1024x768 (in 640x480, 800x600, or 1024x768 mode).

  If you don't have SVGA, DFV should still be able to display
  .FLC files up to 640x480 by displaying in a 320x480 mode and
  throwing away half the pixels.

  If you've got a VESA 1.2 hicolor SVGA, or a hicolor SVGA with
  a VESA 1.2 driver, then DFV can also handle .FLX and .FLH files
  up to 800x600 (in 640x480 or 800x600 mode).

  DFV can handle .FLT files up to 640x480, only if you've got
  a VESA 1.2 truecolor SVGA, or truecolor SVGA with a VESA 1.2
  driver.

  (For a while there were two versions of DFV included in
  the archive, DFV.EXE which ran in protected mode and
  required DOS extender files, and DFVR.EXE, which ran
  in real mode and played from disk.  Now there's only one
  version, DFV.EXE, which runs in real mode but can load
  entire flics into extended memory.  If the whole flic
  won't fit, then it will play it directly from disk like
  DFVR.EXE used to do instead of pausing for a long time
  like DFV.EXE used to do.)


DOS Extender files
------------------

  DFV doesn't require any protected mode drivers any more.


Syntax
------

 DFV filename[.FLI|.FLC|.FLX|.FLH|.FLT|.TGA] [options]

 (wildcards and multiple filenames are legal.  If you
  specify more than one image or flic, then you'll need to
  hit escape to make DFV stop displaying one and move on
  to the next.)

Options
-------
 /Q      Quiet (do not display copyright notice before playing).
 /L#     Specify the number of times to play a flic (default=forever).
 /S#     Force the flic to play at the specified speed (in 1/1000 second).
 /G      Remain in graphics mode afterward.
 /SF#    Force the first frame to display for a minumum of # ms.
 /SL#    Force the last frame to display for a minumum of # ms.
 /NOXMS  Don't use XMS memory even if it's avaiable... always
         play flics directly from disk.


Shareware information
---------------------

 DFV is shareware program.  If you continue to use it after a one-month
 trial period, you're expected to pay a $35 registration fee to the author:

   David K. Mason
   P.O. Box 181015
   Boston, MA  02118

 What do you get for registering DFV?  Just a clear conscience.
 There is no special "registered-only" version of DFV, printed
 documentation, or other incentives.


Miscellaneous advertisements
----------------------------

 Other shareware programs:

   o Dave's TGA Animator (DTA), a flexible graphics conversion image
     processing, composition, and animation utility that runs from the DOS
     command line.  Among other uses, it can convert your still images to
     .FLI, .FLC, .FLH, and .FLT animation files and back.

   o Dave's Morphing program (DMorf), the first shareware morphing
     program for the PC.

   o Dave's Self-Viewing Flic Builder (BUILDSV), which
     converts flics into executable programs by appending a
     copy of the flic to a special version of DFV.

 Books:

   o Making Movies on Your PC, by David K. Mason and Alexander
     Enzmann, Waite Group Press, 1993, ISBN 1-878739-41-7, $34.95 USA.
     This book teaches you how to create 3d animation sequences
     using the Polyray raytracer and DTA.

   o Morphing on Your PC, Waite Group Press, 1994, ISBN 1-878739-53-0,
     $29.95 USA.  This book teaches you how to create cool morphing
     animations using DMorf and DTA.


Support
-------

 If you've got any requests/bug reports/suggestions, send a message
 to:

   "76546,1321" on Compuserve.

   From the Internet, that's "[e-mail]".

   "David Mason" on the "The Graphics Alternative", [phone],
   and on "Channel 1" BBS, [phone].

 You'll probably get some kind of a response (maybe sooner, maybe later).

 You could also send paper mail to the address listed elsewhere in
 this document, but I'm *terrible* at answering my mail.  I much
 prefer electronic mail.


The Rules
---------

  Feel free to re-upload this program to other bulletin boards or
  online systems or to give copies to friends.  Just keep it in
  its  *original, unmodified*  form.  Don't change the name of the
  ZIP file.  It's supposed to be called DFV112.ZIP except on
  Compuserve, where it's just called DFV.ZIP.

  Do not include this program on a floppy disk or CD along with
  any magazine, book, hardware product, or other software product
  without my permission.

  Do not include this program inside an archive along with any
  shareware or freeware program unless you have my permission.

  (Exception: some online services (like Compuserve) require a
  player program to be included with any animations that are uploaded.
  You don't need to get my permission to do this.  Just make sure that
  you include all the files in the DFV archive, including this
  document.)


Version History
---------------

Rel. 1.2 beta (06/14/95) -
    DFV can now display 24-bit FLT files on video cards (like
  the Diamond Stealth 64 and #9 GXE64) with 32-bit VESA graphics
  modes instead of the more conventional 24-bit.  It does display
  them somewhat more slowly because of the additional contortions
  that DFV must go through to repackage the pixels.  I don't know
  if this will solve the problems that some of my users have had
  with Diamond Viper cards... the Diamond Viper Pro Video card
  that I bought doesn't even support any VESA modes except in 4- and
  8-bit, and I haven't been able to get my hands on one of the
  older Vipers which aren't based on a Weitek chip.
    DFV now finds out what video modes a card is capable at
  startup instead of repeatedly checking each time it tries to
  display an image.  This is a big help with the ATI Mach 64 card,
  which pauses for a noticeable period of time whenever a program
  queries available modes.
    Added a file-selection screen that comes up if you
  don't type a specific filename on the command-line.
  (Before 1.2 is really finished, I still have to add scrolling to
  the selection screen, and put back command-line help somewhere.)
    DFV can now read 24-bit PPM files.
    DFV can now read 8-bit and 24-bit PNG files, also
  8- and 16-bit grayscale PNG files.
    DFV now displays grayscale TGA files correctly.
    Replaced the timing code so that DFV can handle flic-speed
  more correctly.

Rel. 1.1.3 (12/31/94) -
    Removed support for Compuserve GIF format because of
  the Unisys's new royalty plan.  Sorry folks.
    Added /G (stay in graphics mode)
Rel. 1.1.2 (10/10/94) -
    Added support for 16-bit flics... as opposed
  to the already-supported 15-bit flics which I *called*
  16-bit flics.  DTA 2.2 is required to build these.
  (Actually I added this to an earlier release but
  didn't document it.)
    When playing 800x600 16-bit flics, it showed them in
  15-bit VESA mode instead.  Fixed.
    Added support for 1-bit (black & white) flics.  These
  are very small and play quickly but don't look so hot
  unless you're animating wireframe images.  At the
  moment, these display only in VGA 320x200 and 640x480
  video modes.  I might add code for higher resolution VESA
  modes later.  DTA 2.2 is required to build these.
  (I added this in an earlier release, too, but didn't document
  it either.)

Rel. 1.1.1 (08/05/94) -
    Fixed some more bugs.
    Put support for "fake 640x480" display mode back so that
  folks without SVGA can still display high-res FLC files.

Rel. 1.1 (07/06/94) -
    Fixed bugs that prevented DFV from reading some unusual
  .FLC files correctly.
    DFV can read .GIF files now.  (provided your display
  can handle the resolution... DFV doesn't do any rescaling
  or clipping at the moment)  If you find any .GIF files
  that DFV can't read, let me know and I'll see what I can
  do.
    DFV can now read some .TGA files too.  (again, providing
  your display can handle resolution and # colors... DFV
  does no rescaling, clipping, or color-reduction)
  If you find any .TGA files that DFV can't read, let me
  know and I'll see what I can do.
    DFV can display multiple flics and images now.  The
  commands "dfv *.flc" and "dfv 1.fli xxx.flc *.gif"
  are both legal.  If DFV is displaying one picture or flic,
  hit escape to stop showing the current one and move on
  to the next.
    If you set the speed value in the header of a flic to
  44444, (or specify /444444 on the command line), then DFV will
  wait until the user hits the spacebar before advancing to the
  next frame instead of waiting on a timer.  Thanks to Thomas
  Webber for this idea.
    If you set the speed value to 55555 then DFV will will wait
  for a spacebar (as with 44444) and also it will only play the
  flic once, just as if the user had specified the /L1 switch.
    DFV can now play read-only and hidden files.
    Added /SF and /SL to override the speed setting for the
  first and/or last frames of an animation.
    Added a few new keystrokes... if you're playing multiple
  flics or images, the spacebar will advance to the next
  animation or exit the program if the last one is currently
  showing.  The escape key will exit all the way to the DOS
  prompt, regardless.  The return key will pause the current
  animation (until you press another key).  If you're displaying
  a 256-color flic or image, you can adjust the brightness with
  the PgUp and PgDn keys.

Rel. 1.0.5 (05/13/94) -
  If DFV was running at midnight, the timer would get
  confused and go into an endless loop.  Fixed.

Rel. 1.0.4 (05/06/94) -
  DFV now runs in real mode instead of protected.  No more
  DOS extender files.  It now loads whole flics into extended
  memory (if available, and in sufficient quantity... otherwise
  it playd from disk).
    No more DFVR.EXE.
  (By the way, there never was a 1.0.3 ... I'm skipping it to
  get the numbering in sync with BUILDSV.)

Rel. 1.0.2 (04/20/94) -
  Fixed more flic-reading bugs (mostly in reading 320x200
  .FLC files).
    Added a real-mode version of the program (DFVR.EXE)
  which, instead of loading the whole flic into memory,
  reads from disk as it's playing.
    Added a bit of extra code to prevent DFV from choking
  on "sound-FLI" animations produced with Kavik Software's
  AniMagician.  It doesn't play the sound, but it doesn't
  abort with a "bad magic number for frame" error either.
    Including two programs called VESAINFO (for diagnosing
  display problems for SVGA animations) and FLICINFO
  (which gives you info like resolution, number of frames,
  etc., from a flic file's header).

Rel. 1.0.1 (03/01/94) - Fixed some bugs that prevented DFV
  from reading some .FLI files, and caused Protection Fault
  errors when playing some .FLC and .FLH files.

Rel. 1.0.0 (02/06/94) - Initial release.