







                          SPRITE MAKER VER 1.0

            A shareware sprite designer tool for fastgraph.
                            By John Gonzalez

                           -==JG=SOFTWARE==-













    PURPOSE:
    --------

    Using this program a programmer can simply and quickly design multi
    frame animations. The frames can then be saved in two formats.
    These include a spritemaker binary file and an include file for
    including into .c programs.


    REQUIREMENTS:
    ----------------------

    EGA, Mouse and your imagination.


    DESCRIPTION:
    ------------

    This sprite editor uses 320x200 16 color mode.

    The animation sequence can be up to 12 frames long and it can be
    previewed using the real-time animator that plays back the sequence
    at an adjustable speed as well as playing it forward and backward.

    Below is a sketch of the main screen which contains the 12 frames,
    a clipboard for temporarily storing an image, a row of command buttons
    and the current sprite file loaded.

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
 |  -----------------------------------------------------------------  |
 |  |                                                               |  |
 |  |  =====     -----    -----    -----    -----    -----          |  |
 |  |  |   |     |   |    |   |    |   |    |   |    |   |          |  |
 |  |  |   |     |   |    |   |    |   |    |   |    |   |          |  |
 |  |  =====     -----    -----    -----    -----    -----   -----  |  |
 |  |    1         2        3        4        5        6     |   |  |  |
 |  |                                                        |   |  |  |
 |  |  -----     -----    -----    -----    -----    -----   -----  |  |
 |  |  |   |     |   |    |   |    |   |    |   |    |   |   CLIP   |  |
 |  |  |   |     |   |    |   |    |   |    |   |    |   |          |  |
 |  |  -----     -----    -----    -----    -----    -----          |  |
 |  |    7         8        9       10       11       12            |  |
 |  |                                                               |  |
 |  -----------------------------------------------------------------  |
 |                                                                     |
 |                                                                     |
 |  --- --- --- --- --- --- ---   ------------------------------       |
 |  |A| |B| |C| |D| |E| |F| |G|   | H                          |       |
 |  --- --- --- --- --- --- ---   ------------------------------       |
 |                                                                     |
 |                 Sprite Maker V1.0 JG Software 1993                  |
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------

    1 - 12 : The 12 sprite frames. To make a frame the current one
             just click inside it.  The currebt frame will be the one you
             will be editing when going into the edit mode. You can also
             copy one frame into another by holding the mouse button down
             for more than 1/2 second, a box will appear allowing you to
             drag a copy of that frame to any other frame including the
             clipboard.

    Clip board : Used as a scratchpad.

    A - G : The 13 command buttons.

        A - Load : Allows you to load a previously saved sprite file. No
                   extension is necessary.

        B - Save : Allows you to save a sprite file in either spritemaker
                   format or as a 'c' include file. Again, no extension is
                   necessary. When saving in 'c' format an additional dialog
                   box will appear allowing you to save only a clipped
                   portion of the sprite ie; 16x16 pixels, as well as the
                   range of frames to save ie; 1,3-8 etc.

        C - PCX : Lets you 'grab' a 32x32 pixel section of a pcx file.
                  This lets you use existing artwork.

        D - Animate : Here is how you preview your masterpiece. The buttons
                      marked 1-12 correspond to frames 1-12. When the button
                      is depressed, that frame is enabled, when it is not
                      pressed it will not appear. The slow and fast buttons do
                      just that, they adjust the speed of animation so you
                      can decide how frames are needed for a particular
                      sequence. The next two buttons decide the direction to
                      animate in. Finally, the last button gets you out.
                      Note that sprite enabling is preserved when you leave
                      the animator and then go back into it.

        E - Edit : See under "Edit screen".

        F - Erase : Erases the currently selected frame.

        G - Exit : Quits the program.

        H - Contains the name of the current sprite file loaded.

    -----------------------------------------------------------------



    EDIT SCREEN:
    ------------

    --------------------------------------------------------------
    | -------------------------------------  ----- ----- ------- |
    | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  | A | | B | |     | |
    | -------------------------------------  |   | |   | |     | |
    | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  ----- ----- |  U  | |
    | -------------------------------------  ----------- |     | |
    | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  | C  I  O | |     | |
    | -------------------------------------  | D  J  P | |     | |
    | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  | E  K  Q | |     | |
    | -------------------------------------  | F  L  R | |     | |
    | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  | G  M  S | |     | |
    | -------------------------------------  | H  N  T | |     | |
    | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  ----------- |     | |
    | -------------------------------------              ------- |
    | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |              ------- |
    | -------------------------------------              |  V  | |
    |    X = 0      Y = 0      Frame = 1                 ------- |
    --------------------------------------------------------------

    C - Point  (Freehand)
    D - Line
    E - Filled rectangle
    F - Unfilled rectangle
    G - Circle
    H - Fill

        These are the six drawing tools available. Just click
        on the tool desired.

        Freehand - Move the pointer inside the zoom area and
                   click to plot a pixel.

        The line, filled, unfilled, and circle  work by selecting the
        starting point, dragging the mouse, then releasing the mouse button.

        Fill works by clicking on a point.



    I - Flips image horizontally.
    J - Flips image vertically.
    K - Shifts image 1 pixel up.
    L - Shifts image 1 pixel down.
    M - Shifts image 1 pixel left.
    N - Shifts image 1 pixel right.
    O - Clears the frame.
    P - Undos the last drawing operation.
    Q - Puts a copy of the current sprite into the clip
        board. This is the same clipboard that is found
        on the main sprite screen.
    R - Brings a copy of the clipboard into the current
        sprite.
    S - Rotates frame 90 degrees.
    T - Quit - Returns to main screen.

    U - The 16 available colors. Just click on the desired color.
    V - The current drawing color.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

    INTERGRATING OUTPUT INTO A PROGRAM:
    --------------------------------------

    The 'c' output file gets saved as follows;

        The name that you specify is used as a prefix and the number 1 to 12
    is appended to it and then each frame is saved as a char array. You can
    then use that variable in a call to fg_drwimage() using the width and
    height indicated at the top of the file in comments.


    DEVELOPMENT ENVIROMENT:
    -----------------------

    386-33 with SVGA
    Turbo C++ 3.0
    Fastgraph Pro  v2.11
    ... And a lot of overnight programming sessions.


    REGISTRATION:
    -------------

    The registration is $10.00. It may or may not go up with next version.
    I have several things planned, among them 256 color support with pallette
    adjusting, file picklist windows, ability to rotate a frame thru any angle,
    as well as feasable suggestions that come in.

    The address is: John Gonzalez
                    23-24 26st
                    Astoria, NY 11105

   I did not put in any nag screens because I dont like them and I think
   they actually deter registration. A good piece of software should sell
   itself. I will eventually find out how this program rates.

   ( I know this documention stinks, but hey,
     I am a programmer not a writer! )

   One interesting note is the icons throughout the program were created
   with this same program.

   I welcome any comments or bug reports. I can be reached on the FastGraph
   and Game design conferences on I-Link.


    DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY:
    ------------------------

    This program, its use, and operation are provided "AS IS"
    without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied.
    The entire risk as to the quality and performance of this
    software is with the user. In no event shall I, John Gonzalez,
    be liable for damages arising from the use or inability to
    use this program.


