** PLEASE READ THE ENCLOSED MANUAL TOO AND ITS FAQ SECTION! **
WHAT'S NEW IN THIS VERSION ?
1.2 (10 Nov 2003)
-JPEG support for saving (Navigator and Renderer). Big thanks to Frank Wille
who ported for me libjpeg for VBCC (PPC and 68k)
-Overall GUI re-arranging
-Custom windows code has been definitely removed
-Minor code improvements
DESCRIPTION
ZoneXplorer (for friends ZX) is a fractal navigation and rendering program
for the Amiga quite unique in its way.
Please note: this's NOT the usual Mandelbrot/Julia explorer.
ZoneXplorer by no means claims to be fast, nor has it been conceived to
be a realtime fractal zoomer. The first goal of ZoneXplorer is the unseen
quality of its output and its handiness. Speed OR quality, try to
understand.
If you're looking for a «realtime» Mandelbrot & Julia zoomer, please
search elsewhere: there's a bunch of them. PPC version is reasonably
fast, of course, but NOT realtime.
Later in this doc you will find all the main ZoneXplorer features listed.
IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT ReAction/ClassAct PLEASE READ !
Starting from version 1.04, ZoneXplorer may use ClassAct in place of RA !
I worked to make it compatible with these old "pre-ReAction" classes since
many people (mainly Pegasos users) complain about not having AmigaOS 3.5+
This way everyone may use ZX with ClassAct classes only, which are freely
downloadable from Aminet. Limit to install the "classes" drawer from ClassAct
archive, DON't copy CAPrefs or other stuff, you DON'T NEED them!
Please don't install ClassAct if you have ReAction!
You're no more forced to use v45 classes (AmigaOS 3.5 should be enough)
but please use them if you can: things will surely go better.
ZX has been tested both with RA and with ClassAct and works pretty good with
Pegasos. Please let me know about every problem you may encouter.
DISCLAIMER
ZoneXplorer has already been tested on different configurations and never
caused crashes, system instability, damages or any kind of problems but it
may still have bugs or show incorrect behavior on hardware/software setups
different from the Author's. Please send any bug report.
In no way the Author may be held responsible for damage to your computer
or third parties caused by a bad, wrong or illegitimate usage.
The compatibility with third party patches cannot be guaranteed.
The package in general may be not 100% finished and the docs may have
errors as well.
Some modules may show wrong colors or noisy pixels with certain 68K (real
or emulated). Please notify the Author, in the case.
LEGAL:
ZoneXplorer is FREEWARE. You may download it without charge for your
personal usage, enjoyment, work or research but absolutely for non
commercial purposes. You cannot spread or re-distribute the package
without Author's written permission.
ZoneXplorer and all the included formulas are copyrighted by the Author.
You are not allowed to spread images created with the enclosed formulas
without specifying a copyright notice or in general for any commercial
purpose. For any special question or permission, feel free to contact the
Author. Sorry for the lack of sources of the included formulas, but you
will understand that they're quite unique at this time, both for some of
the mathematical functions used, and especially for the sophisticated and
original dynamic-mapping techniques expressly designed by the Author in
years of research on this topic. Reverse engineering and/or disassembling
on these formulas is STRICTLY PROHIBITED. Keep in mind that the enclosed
formulas are encrypted using a quite complex scheme, however: don't waste
your time trying to disassemble them.
ZoneXplorer currently relies on VBCC for compiling your formulas.
The compiler files, executables and scripts needed for creating your
Modules are enclosed in this package under kind permission from VBCC
Authors, so everything is ready to allow you to work right away. Of
course nothing prevents you from adapting the internal scripts to support
another compiler of your choice and/or already installed on your system,
if you can.
VBCC is a very good ISO C, Amiga-friendly, multi-targeted optimizing
compiler copyrighted by Volker Barthelmann and Frank Wille.
INSTALLATION:
Simply unpack the archive and copy the entire program directory wherever
you want. No boring installation is required. No need to dirty your
system with exotic libraries, files, assigns, etc.
Please check to have correctly installed all ReAction classes in
SYS:Classes since they're required by ZoneXplorer's GUI.
If you don't have OS 3.5 or OS 3.9, download ClassAct from Aminet and
copy the content of its "Classes" drawer in SYS:Classes.
You're strongly advised not to rename and/or delete the subdirectories and
the contained files without a good reason, because serious program errors
may occur.
ZONEXPLORER'S FEATURES:
- Full Modularity.
You're no longer limited to hardcoded formulas but can write your own (as
long as you know WHAT to write and have some good expertise over maths
and fractal algorithms).
ZoneXplorer is modular, i.e it has NO hardcoded formulas.
For achieving the maximum speed, ZoneXplorer doesn't rely on a slow
interpreter but treats formulas (also referred to as Modules) as external
loadable executables, which you may write in C or ASM or any language of
your choice and then compile. A simple module-creation/editing
environment is actually included and fully functional, but it will be
heavily improved in the future.
- True 24 bit, WYSIWYG Color Handling.
ZoneXplorer receives from its formulas a LONGWORD per pixel, containing
an ARGB value for direct color mapping.
No more palette-based or escape-time based images, no more "terraced"
gradients. Unseen colorful fractals are possible now.
- Easy and Intuitive Navigator.
ZoneXplorer opens its windows on your Workbench and lets you explore any
formula quickly and simply just with some mouse clicks.
You can handly zoom, drag, change the parameters and navigate within the
2D math plane of your formula. Every operation can be performed easily at
any time even while the image is calculating. Mouse wheel and third
button are supported too, making some operations very handy.
- 3 Different Parameters Mapping Modes.
By the way formulas are conceived, ZoneXplorer can handle them in three
different ways. You can always switch between:
·Z Plane with C as parameter (Julia-like mapping)
·C Plane with Z0 as parameter (Mandelbrot-like mapping with Z0)
·C=Z0 Plane («Generalized» Mandelbrot-like mapping)
So there's no need to have separate J and M versions (if needed) of the
same function.
- Multitasking.
You can open an unlimited number of independent windows and optionally
send the C-parameter to another window, thus making very comfortable to
search the relation between Julia sets and Mandelbrot sets of the same
formula.
- 1:1 Ratio.
ZoneXplorer's navigation engine keeps always your image undistorted with
its natural "square pixel" ratio. When resizing the window or zooming you
won't get shrinked or squeezed pictures like usually happens with similar
programs.
- Optional 2x2 Antialiasing
- Many High Quality Formulas Included.
ZoneXplorer comes with literally dozens of original and colorful 24 bit
formulas, allowing you to start enjoy even if you aren't a mathematician
or haven't the needed basis to write your custom modules.
- Nice 24 bit modern GUI
- Control Panel
ZoneXplorer has a complete and nice control panel always opened on your
desktop, for displaying or entering manually the main parameters in a
very handy way.
- Independent Renderer
ZoneXplorer offers an Independent Rendering Engine, allowing you to render
Zones in an arbitrarily big size and/or precise pixel size with optional
AntiAliasing. Useful for creating high resolution pictures to print or
backdrops for your desktop with well defined dimensions.
- PPC and 68K Versions.
ZoneXplorer currently comes both for 68K and for PPC (MorphOS).
Both executables and relative modules are included in this archive.
Please run the PPC exe if you're using MorphOS. The 68K version runs fine
under MorphOS emulation as well but is many times slower, of course.
Please install MorphOS if you have a PPC. WarpOS/PowerUP aren't supported
and will never be.
- ZoneXplorer is FREEWARE, you haven't to pay for it.
REQUIREMENTS:
68K VERSION:
- AmigaOS 3.5+
- png.datatype (required to load the GUI gfx)
- An HI/TRUE Color Workbench running on a CGX/P96 compatible gfx card
- A very fast 68K with FPU
RECOMMENDED (but not stricly required):
- Amithlon or UAE running on a VERY FAST x86 CPU
- AmigaOS 3.9 with ReAction v45+ classes
- 24 bit Workbench
- A three buttons + wheel mouse
- c:Ed and Arexx for the provisional WriteMod module writing environment
to work
PowerPC VERSION:
- MorphOS (for Pegasos or AmigaPPC)
- ClassAct (from Aminet)
- HI/TRUE Color Desktop
RECOMMENDED (but not stricly required):
- Pegasos
- Original ReAction v45+ classes from AmigaOS
- 24 bit Desktop
- A three buttons + wheel mouse
- c:Ed and Arexx for the provisional WriteMod module writing environment
to work (both from AmigaOS)
SOME NOTES ABOUT SPEED:
As explicitly told above, ZoneXplorer has NOT been designed to be as fast
as you may expect. Especially, don't complain to me of how the 68K
version is slow: simply, I know.
The PPC version is quite fast, however, but still not realtime. Maybe
future Amigas running on Ghz-PPCs can bring ZoneXplorer renderings to be
«near» realtime, however; but you must remember that the included
formulas, and particularly the unpublished ALGORITHMS employed there
cannot by definition be fast as the simpler, commonly used «escape time»
ones. If you own a PC you can enjoy the 68K version of ZoneXplorer with
an emulator like UAE-Jit or Amithlon, of course.
On a P-800 it seems about as fast as the PPC version on a 604e200,
perhaps even faster. On a PPC-600 Pegasos many formulas are really faster
(about 4-5 times) than on Amithlon with a P4 2.4 Ghz, excluding the ones
using transcendental functions, which are about as fast.
Obviously nothing prevents you from writing light-speed, old fashioned
fractal modules for ZoneXplorer, if you know how. Included are some
source examples on how to write a module, you may find them useful.
BUG REPORTS / COMMENTS:
Currently no real bug is known.
ZoneXplorer should run fine on any Amiga respecting the above mentioned
requirements, but the compatibility with third party patches cannot be
guaranteed.
You're strongly advised to find some time and read the included manual
and its sections about known program limitations and the FAQ, and check
whether the problems you may encounter are already covered or not.
If You think You've found a bug please to contact the author.
Suggestions and comments are obviously welcome as long as they are
constructive AND NOT attempts to change the program's established roadmap
or philosophy.
In particular, please DON'T ask me the program or formulas source codes
and DON'T ask me to port ZoneXplorer to other platforms or to redesign it
to be portable. Flames, insults, criticism (if not constructive) will be
simply trashed (if you don't like ZoneXplorer, simply don't use it ;-)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
Many thanks go to the authors of VBCC for allowing me to include some
files from original VBCC distribution and for VBCC itself, which made it
possible to develop painlessly and nicely the MorphOS version of
ZoneXplorer.
Without VBCC ZoneXplorer PPC could have never seen the light.
Heartfelt thanks go to Raquel Velasco and Bill Buck (Genesi) for having
gifted me with a Pegasos motherboard: that allowed me to resume ZoneXplorer
PPC development and to bring it to 1.0 in less than one month of work !
Last but not least, my best thanks to Massimo Tantignone for his friendship,
beta testing, continuous suggestions and help over many topics, and for
understanding and appreciating my job sincerely and as nobody else.
YOUR CONTRIBUTION:
Do you think you've written some interesting ZoneXplorer Module or found
some nice 'zone' ? Good! You're free to upload it to Aminet of course, or
contact the Author who may eventually include them in future ZoneXplorer
releases :)
PLEASE SUPPORT AMINET!
If you write Amiga software please put it on Aminet. Don't keep it on
your home page only. Doing so will prevent you from being considered
disagreeable, and help your software to be more visible to everyone who
is searching for it!
AUTHOR:
Elena Novaretti
www.elena-fractals.it
<uni-dea jumpy.it>
ZoneXplorer and the included formulas are copyright © Elena Novaretti
1995-2003.
VBCC is copyright © Volker Barthelmann - Frank Wille.
All rights reserved.
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