Fresh Fish 8/FreshFishVol8-CD2.bin/bbs/gfx/flaminator-1.5.lha/Flaminator/Flaminator.ReadIt

Text File | 1994-09-05 | 16KB | 318 lines

Carmen Rizzolo proudly presents...


                              FLAMINATOR! v1.5

           [first 'a' pronounced as in 'flask' and 'flatulence']


                An Arexx script for OpalPaint v2.3 or higher.

                 READ THE FIRST BIT OF "Flaminator.oprx" for
                         changes in recent versions.


-- INTRODUCTION -----------------------------------------------------

    Greetings yet again!  Here's another time saving utility for your
OpalPleasure.  This is a shareware release, but not crippled in any
way.  If you use it in a project that you earn money off from, I ask
for a $15 shareware fee.  Is that so much?  If you're using it for
fun, I say have at it!  This one is on me!
    Let me say that you *MUST* read this documentation if you intend
to use the script.  It's feature packed, and not all of it is
explained from using the script itself.  Nuff said.

-- WARNING ----------------------------------------------------------

    Contents extremely flammable.

-- WHAT IT DOES -----------------------------------------------------

    FLAMINATOR takes care of the drudgery of creating and animating
flames, explosions and similar special effects.  The 'look' that
FLAMINATOR creates can be anywhere from movie-like to cartoonish.
    FLAMINATOR can take a single image, and create animated flames on
top of it, or add flames to an existing animation.

-- INSTALLATION -----------------------------------------------------

    Really simple.  Use a shell window or your favorite directory
utility.  Copy the file "Flaminator.oprx" and the
"FlaminatorDefault.TXT" files into your "OpalPaint:Rexx" drawer.  The
two drawers included in this archive (Torch & TorchPics) are filled
with ready-to-go sample images, so you can run the script right away
to see how it works.. But be sure to read the rest of this
documentation first!!!!!

-- OPERATION --------------------------------------------------------

    When you first run the script, you'll be greeted with a prompt,
and an opportunity to bail out.  Click on OK to continue here.

    Next you'll be asked to choose a "BACKGROUND source method."
Background simply means it's the ray-traced or painted images
that the flames are placed on top of.
    The STATIC method will use one image as a background source, add
multiple flame images and save out multiple images of the flames on
the single image.
    The ANIMATED method will add the flame images on top of an
existing series of background frames.  The animation frames will
either be overwritten in favor of the new images, or the changed
images can be saved into a seperate drawer so you can decide if
you like the changes before overwriting your originals.
    The CURRENT method is very similar to the STATIC method.  But
it will use whatever image is CURRENTLY loaded in OpalPaint and uses
that as it's background images.  If you only want flames on a black
background, just clear the screen before you run FLAMINATOR and
choose the CURRENT method.  When the script is done, your original
background image can be found, unscathed, in your RAM disk in a
drawer called 'Method2.'  When you use the CURRENT method, you should
make certian that your flame images are the same as, or similar
to, your current background image resolution.

    The next part of the script asks you for your choice of a flame
colour.  You currently have 7 choices.
    The first colour is "normal."  The Normal colour goes from
white, to yellow, to orange, to red, to dark red.  Just like
your typical flame.
    Yellow flames is MOSTLY yellow, but it tints it orange as it
diminishes in intensity.
    Red flames are pretty much that, red.  There is a little orange
in the second-brighest area of the flame.  All flames are pure white
at it's most intense area.
    Blue is usefull for gas fires.. Like a raging pilot light!  Yeah!!
    Green and Purple were added just for fun.. Maybe you'd like a
purple dragon to exhale purple fire!  Ya never know.  If you know
Arexx, you can always add your own colour sets, or, ask me if you've
got a request.  I've though about adding a continually phasing random
colour set, maybe in a later date for those who register.
    The Custom flame lets you draw your own conclusions.  Use the four
sets of RGB sliders below to make your own range of flame colours.

    Next is your choice of "Flame Size."  Although the flame's
physical is roughly based on the flame's source image, the SIZE
value can give it different "looks."  The lower numbers are good
for small sources such as matches and torches.  The highest numbers
give a "raging" or "roaring" quality to it, best for larger sources
such as bon-fires or nuclear blasts.

    Next comes the smoothing value.  The higher the better here.
You have a choice of 1, 2 or 3.  Three takes the longest time.

*** NEW in v1.1b *** Smoothing efficiency is greatly improved.
Only a smoothing value of 1 is needed.  2 is optimal, 3 is more than
you'll ever need.

    Intensity is basically how many times the flame is stamped
on the background image.  An intensity of 1 is sufficient for most
applications.  If the background is mostly a bright image, the
flame might appear transparent and look like a poorly superimposed
effect.  In such cases, try 2.  On the other end of the spectrum,
the higher the flame intensity, the more 'cartoonish' the flame will
appear.

    Next, you enter the pathname to the BACKGROUND source images.
Do not include the filename.  Your Background source images *MUST* be
inside a drawer, and not on a main directory of a disk.

    For example, if your source BACKGROUND image(s) are in a drawer
named "furnace" and that drawer is on a HardDrive called "Work"
you would type (not including quotation marks) "Work:furnace/"
    If your images are in a drawer named "furnace" and that drawer
is in a drawer named "pics" which is in a disk named "DH0" you would
type "DH0:pics/furnace/"
    Whew!!  Sorry I didn't use proper commas, but I didn't want
commas (which would normally go inside quotes) to confuse you.
    If you're using the "STATIC" method, with one source BACKGROUND
image, you *MUST* have an image in your drawer that is called
"pic.0001" or you'll have problems.  More on your image's filenames
later...

    Next you give a directory for the FLAME source images.  The
same rules apply here.  Don't specify filenames, just the paths.

    Next you enter the starting FLAME frame number.  If your
flames begin with "pic.0005," just enter "5"  Not "0005," or
"pic.0005."

    Then the ending FLAME frame number is given.  Same thing here.
If your last frame is "pic.0012," just give me "12"

    Next you can do one of two things.
    If you're using the "STATIC" background method, you give a
pathname for your destination images.  Same rules as mentioned above.
    If you're using the "ANIMATED" background method, you have two
choices.  You can tell it to overwrite your BACKGROUND source images
as it adds the flames, or you can have it save the changed frames
into a seperate directory.  This way is reccomended, because you can
double-check that you like the changes, and replace your originals
with them at your leisure.

-- MORE INFO ABOUT OPERATION ----------------------------------------

    As you might have already guessed, FLAMINATOR does require TWO
sets of images.  One for the BACKGROUND, another to define the
FLAMES.  The FLAME images can be simple two-colour pics, made with
a non-opal paint program.  They could also be made with OpalPaint.
It really doesn't matter.  The FLAME pics should be the same
resolution as the BACKGROUND images.  If your BACKGROUND images are
HIGH RES - OVERSCAN, you should start your paint program up in that
mode when you make the FLAME pics.  You can use this script any way
you choose, but here's what to do for most cases:

    Create your single BACKGROUND image or series of BACKGROUND
images.  If your source BACKGROUND image(s) are not in an interlaced
resolution, you may want to launch a small program to force your
workbench to flicker.  This is a shareware program, so I can't
include any such program here without first hunting down it's author.
Find me and