Home » Archimedes archive » Micro User » MU 1990-11.adf » ArcLight » ReadMe
ReadMe
This website contains an archive of files for the Acorn Electron, BBC Micro, Acorn Archimedes, Commodore 16 and Commodore 64 computers, which Dominic Ford has rescued from his private collection of floppy disks and cassettes.
Some of these files were originally commercial releases in the 1980s and 1990s, but they are now widely available online. I assume that copyright over them is no longer being asserted. If you own the copyright and would like files to be removed, please contact me.
Tape/disk: | Home » Archimedes archive » Micro User » MU 1990-11.adf » ArcLight |
Filename: | ReadMe |
Read OK: | ✔ |
File size: | 0648 bytes |
Load address: | 0000 |
Exec address: | 0000 |
File contents
This demonstration is one of the first films to be produced with Ace Computing's new Ray Tracing application for rendering Euclid files. IT NEEDS AT LEAST A 2M MACHINE TO RUN PROPERLY. The film contains sixty frames which were calculated in under four hours on a standard ARM2 machine without MEMC1a. The 1/16th version took just twelve minutes. The film content was produced as follows: 1. FontFX was used to produce the word ArcLight as a DrawFile in the relevant colours. 2. The DrawFile was dropped onto the Euclid icon. Euclid extruded the file. 3. The word was grouped up, and recentered in Euclid. 4. A single polygon was entered and its colour set to green, and material to 6 (Mirror). 5. A floor was added. Also a light (see if you can work out where it is!) 6. Key positions for the objects were marked using Mogul, and a Mogul animation sequence file was produced. 7. The Picture file, and the Mogul sequence file were placed into a directory. 8. The directory was dropped onto the ArcLight icon. ArcLight then rendered the film in the background on the desktop, while other work went on. The result is as you see. The film has been compressed using a technique similar to that used by !Spark, but the new !Projector is able to decompress the frames on the fly. The contents of this disk can be freely distributed as long as they are accompanied by this ReadMe file. Further information on all Ace Computing's graphics and animation software, including Euclid, Mogul, Splice, Tween and ArcLight can be obtained from: Ace Computing 27 Victoria Road CAMBRIDGE CB4 3BW Tel: (0223) 322559
00000000 54 68 69 73 20 64 65 6d 6f 6e 73 74 72 61 74 69 |This demonstrati| 00000010 6f 6e 20 69 73 20 6f 6e 65 20 6f 66 20 74 68 65 |on is one of the| 00000020 20 66 69 72 73 74 20 66 69 6c 6d 73 20 74 6f 20 | first films to | 00000030 62 65 0a 70 72 6f 64 75 63 65 64 20 77 69 74 68 |be.produced with| 00000040 20 41 63 65 20 43 6f 6d 70 75 74 69 6e 67 27 73 | Ace Computing's| 00000050 20 6e 65 77 20 52 61 79 20 54 72 61 63 69 6e 67 | new Ray Tracing| 00000060 0a 61 70 70 6c 69 63 61 74 69 6f 6e 20 66 6f 72 |.application for| 00000070 20 72 65 6e 64 65 72 69 6e 67 20 45 75 63 6c 69 | rendering Eucli| 00000080 64 20 66 69 6c 65 73 2e 20 49 54 20 4e 45 45 44 |d files. IT NEED| 00000090 53 0a 41 54 20 4c 45 41 53 54 20 41 20 32 4d 20 |S.AT LEAST A 2M | 000000a0 4d 41 43 48 49 4e 45 20 54 4f 20 52 55 4e 20 50 |MACHINE TO RUN P| 000000b0 52 4f 50 45 52 4c 59 2e 0a 0a 54 68 65 20 66 69 |ROPERLY...The fi| 000000c0 6c 6d 20 63 6f 6e 74 61 69 6e 73 20 73 69 78 74 |lm contains sixt| 000000d0 79 20 66 72 61 6d 65 73 20 77 68 69 63 68 20 77 |y frames which w| 000000e0 65 72 65 20 63 61 6c 63 75 6c 61 74 65 64 0a 69 |ere calculated.i| 000000f0 6e 20 75 6e 64 65 72 20 66 6f 75 72 20 68 6f 75 |n under four hou| 00000100 72 73 20 6f 6e 20 61 20 73 74 61 6e 64 61 72 64 |rs on a standard| 00000110 20 41 52 4d 32 20 6d 61 63 68 69 6e 65 0a 77 69 | ARM2 machine.wi| 00000120 74 68 6f 75 74 20 4d 45 4d 43 31 61 2e 20 54 68 |thout MEMC1a. Th| 00000130 65 20 31 2f 31 36 74 68 20 76 65 72 73 69 6f 6e |e 1/16th version| 00000140 20 74 6f 6f 6b 20 6a 75 73 74 20 74 77 65 6c 76 | took just twelv| 00000150 65 0a 6d 69 6e 75 74 65 73 2e 0a 0a 54 68 65 20 |e.minutes...The | 00000160 66 69 6c 6d 20 63 6f 6e 74 65 6e 74 20 77 61 73 |film content was| 00000170 20 70 72 6f 64 75 63 65 64 20 61 73 20 66 6f 6c | produced as fol| 00000180 6c 6f 77 73 3a 0a 0a 31 2e 20 46 6f 6e 74 46 58 |lows:..1. FontFX| 00000190 20 77 61 73 20 75 73 65 64 20 74 6f 20 70 72 6f | was used to pro| 000001a0 64 75 63 65 20 74 68 65 20 77 6f 72 64 20 41 72 |duce the word Ar| 000001b0 63 4c 69 67 68 74 0a 61 73 20 61 20 44 72 61 77 |cLight.as a Draw| 000001c0 46 69 6c 65 20 69 6e 20 74 68 65 20 72 65 6c 65 |File in the rele| 000001d0 76 61 6e 74 20 63 6f 6c 6f 75 72 73 2e 0a 32 2e |vant colours..2.| 000001e0 20 54 68 65 20 44 72 61 77 46 69 6c 65 20 77 61 | The DrawFile wa| 000001f0 73 20 64 72 6f 70 70 65 64 20 6f 6e 74 6f 20 74 |s dropped onto t| 00000200 68 65 20 45 75 63 6c 69 64 20 69 63 6f 6e 2e 0a |he Euclid icon..| 00000210 45 75 63 6c 69 64 20 65 78 74 72 75 64 65 64 20 |Euclid extruded | 00000220 74 68 65 20 66 69 6c 65 2e 0a 33 2e 20 54 68 65 |the file..3. The| 00000230 20 77 6f 72 64 20 77 61 73 20 67 72 6f 75 70 65 | word was groupe| 00000240 64 20 75 70 2c 20 61 6e 64 20 72 65 63 65 6e 74 |d up, and recent| 00000250 65 72 65 64 20 69 6e 20 45 75 63 6c 69 64 2e 0a |ered in Euclid..| 00000260 34 2e 20 41 20 73 69 6e 67 6c 65 20 70 6f 6c 79 |4. A single poly| 00000270 67 6f 6e 20 77 61 73 20 65 6e 74 65 72 65 64 20 |gon was entered | 00000280 61 6e 64 20 69 74 73 20 63 6f 6c 6f 75 72 20 73 |and its colour s| 00000290 65 74 0a 74 6f 20 67 72 65 65 6e 2c 20 61 6e 64 |et.to green, and| 000002a0 20 6d 61 74 65 72 69 61 6c 20 74 6f 20 36 20 28 | material to 6 (| 000002b0 4d 69 72 72 6f 72 29 2e 0a 35 2e 20 41 20 66 6c |Mirror)..5. A fl| 000002c0 6f 6f 72 20 77 61 73 20 61 64 64 65 64 2e 20 41 |oor was added. A| 000002d0 6c 73 6f 20 61 20 6c 69 67 68 74 20 28 73 65 65 |lso a light (see| 000002e0 20 69 66 20 79 6f 75 20 63 61 6e 0a 77 6f 72 6b | if you can.work| 000002f0 20 6f 75 74 20 77 68 65 72 65 20 69 74 20 69 73 | out where it is| 00000300 21 29 0a 36 2e 20 4b 65 79 20 70 6f 73 69 74 69 |!).6. Key positi| 00000310 6f 6e 73 20 66 6f 72 20 74 68 65 20 6f 62 6a 65 |ons for the obje| 00000320 63 74 73 20 77 65 72 65 20 6d 61 72 6b 65 64 20 |cts were marked | 00000330 75 73 69 6e 67 0a 4d 6f 67 75 6c 2c 20 61 6e 64 |using.Mogul, and| 00000340 20 61 20 4d 6f 67 75 6c 20 61 6e 69 6d 61 74 69 | a Mogul animati| 00000350 6f 6e 20 73 65 71 75 65 6e 63 65 20 66 69 6c 65 |on sequence file| 00000360 20 77 61 73 0a 70 72 6f 64 75 63 65 64 2e 0a 37 | was.produced..7| 00000370 2e 20 54 68 65 20 50 69 63 74 75 72 65 20 66 69 |. The Picture fi| 00000380 6c 65 2c 20 61 6e 64 20 74 68 65 20 4d 6f 67 75 |le, and the Mogu| 00000390 6c 20 73 65 71 75 65 6e 63 65 20 66 69 6c 65 0a |l sequence file.| 000003a0 77 65 72 65 20 70 6c 61 63 65 64 20 69 6e 74 6f |were placed into| 000003b0 20 61 20 64 69 72 65 63 74 6f 72 79 2e 0a 38 2e | a directory..8.| 000003c0 20 54 68 65 20 64 69 72 65 63 74 6f 72 79 20 77 | The directory w| 000003d0 61 73 20 64 72 6f 70 70 65 64 20 6f 6e 74 6f 20 |as dropped onto | 000003e0 74 68 65 20 41 72 63 4c 69 67 68 74 20 69 63 6f |the ArcLight ico| 000003f0 6e 2e 0a 41 72 63 4c 69 67 68 74 20 74 68 65 6e |n..ArcLight then| 00000400 20 72 65 6e 64 65 72 65 64 20 74 68 65 20 66 69 | rendered the fi| 00000410 6c 6d 20 69 6e 20 74 68 65 20 62 61 63 6b 67 72 |lm in the backgr| 00000420 6f 75 6e 64 20 6f 6e 0a 74 68 65 20 64 65 73 6b |ound on.the desk| 00000430 74 6f 70 2c 20 77 68 69 6c 65 20 6f 74 68 65 72 |top, while other| 00000440 20 77 6f 72 6b 20 77 65 6e 74 20 6f 6e 2e 20 54 | work went on. T| 00000450 68 65 20 72 65 73 75 6c 74 20 69 73 0a 61 73 20 |he result is.as | 00000460 79 6f 75 20 73 65 65 2e 0a 0a 54 68 65 20 66 69 |you see...The fi| 00000470 6c 6d 20 68 61 73 20 62 65 65 6e 20 63 6f 6d 70 |lm has been comp| 00000480 72 65 73 73 65 64 20 75 73 69 6e 67 20 61 20 74 |ressed using a t| 00000490 65 63 68 6e 69 71 75 65 0a 73 69 6d 69 6c 61 72 |echnique.similar| 000004a0 20 74 6f 20 74 68 61 74 20 75 73 65 64 20 62 79 | to that used by| 000004b0 20 21 53 70 61 72 6b 2c 20 62 75 74 20 74 68 65 | !Spark, but the| 000004c0 20 6e 65 77 0a 21 50 72 6f 6a 65 63 74 6f 72 20 | new.!Projector | 000004d0 69 73 20 61 62 6c 65 20 74 6f 20 64 65 63 6f 6d |is able to decom| 000004e0 70 72 65 73 73 20 74 68 65 20 66 72 61 6d 65 73 |press the frames| 000004f0 0a 6f 6e 20 74 68 65 20 66 6c 79 2e 0a 0a 54 68 |.on the fly...Th| 00000500 65 20 63 6f 6e 74 65 6e 74 73 20 6f 66 20 74 68 |e contents of th| 00000510 69 73 20 64 69 73 6b 20 63 61 6e 20 62 65 20 66 |is disk can be f| 00000520 72 65 65 6c 79 20 64 69 73 74 72 69 62 75 74 65 |reely distribute| 00000530 64 0a 61 73 20 6c 6f 6e 67 20 61 73 20 74 68 65 |d.as long as the| 00000540 79 20 61 72 65 20 61 63 63 6f 6d 70 61 6e 69 65 |y are accompanie| 00000550 64 20 62 79 20 74 68 69 73 20 52 65 61 64 4d 65 |d by this ReadMe| 00000560 20 66 69 6c 65 2e 0a 0a 46 75 72 74 68 65 72 20 | file...Further | 00000570 69 6e 66 6f 72 6d 61 74 69 6f 6e 20 6f 6e 20 61 |information on a| 00000580 6c 6c 20 41 63 65 20 43 6f 6d 70 75 74 69 6e 67 |ll Ace Computing| 00000590 27 73 20 67 72 61 70 68 69 63 73 0a 61 6e 64 20 |'s graphics.and | 000005a0 61 6e 69 6d 61 74 69 6f 6e 20 73 6f 66 74 77 61 |animation softwa| 000005b0 72 65 2c 20 69 6e 63 6c 75 64 69 6e 67 20 45 75 |re, including Eu| 000005c0 63 6c 69 64 2c 20 4d 6f 67 75 6c 2c 0a 53 70 6c |clid, Mogul,.Spl| 000005d0 69 63 65 2c 20 54 77 65 65 6e 20 61 6e 64 20 41 |ice, Tween and A| 000005e0 72 63 4c 69 67 68 74 20 63 61 6e 20 62 65 20 6f |rcLight can be o| 000005f0 62 74 61 69 6e 65 64 20 66 72 6f 6d 3a 0a 0a 20 |btained from:.. | 00000600 41 63 65 20 43 6f 6d 70 75 74 69 6e 67 0a 20 32 |Ace Computing. 2| 00000610 37 20 56 69 63 74 6f 72 69 61 20 52 6f 61 64 0a |7 Victoria Road.| 00000620 20 43 41 4d 42 52 49 44 47 45 0a 20 43 42 34 20 | CAMBRIDGE. CB4 | 00000630 33 42 57 0a 20 54 65 6c 3a 20 28 30 32 32 33 29 |3BW. Tel: (0223)| 00000640 20 33 32 32 35 35 39 0a | 322559.| 00000648