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|Eบ |5Picture This|E บ                ^1 Abstract Art 2 |E                บ |5Picture This|E บ
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^C^1By^0
^C^1Terry Wayne Wilk^0


        Hold on to your eyeballs!  And prepare to be totally mesmerized by
     the unique images, shifting patterns, changing colors, and random
     movement of video art!  ABART2 is here and ready to turn your PC into
     a modern-day art gallery.  Subscribers will remember the original
     ABART published on BBD issue #41.  Well, Terry Wilk has now released
     an updated version of the program, and we are proud to present it
     this month.  ABART2 is an abstract art drawing program that produces
     fascinating graphic displays on your PC's video screen.  There are
     many different display classes for you to choose from, such as
     COMETS, TORNADOS, SNOWFLAKES, CHAOS, and many others.  From each
     class, an unlimited number of displays can be drawn at random.

        In this new version of ABART six of the original designs remain
     and 20 new designs have been added.  New is the VGA drifting color
     feature as well as the banner text feature that lets you append text
     to the graphic displays.  Some menu keys have been changed or added
     to accommodate new features.  Most of the old key settings are the
     same so past ABART users will feel pretty much at home.

        ABART2 will use default modes when started.  However, you may go
     beyond the default settings to create different display effects such
     as resolution, colors, speed, and display hold time.  You may also
     tell ABART2 to continuously show displays you choose and to run each
     display for a specific amount of time.  You can save and restore
     different ABART2 settings to disk files.  If you are timid about
     trying out some options, do not fear; you cannot hurt anything.  Be
     adventurous, and most of all, have fun!

        ABART2 runs on CGA, EGA, and VGA.  If you have a VGA system, be
     sure to load and run the preset files as they will show you different
     and unusual settings for VGA.  For more information on these files,
     see PRESET FILES FOR VGA below.


     ^1HOW TO SEE A GRAPHIC DISPLAY^0

        When ABART2 is executed, the Main Menu will come up first.  This
     menu lets you control the display effects (how the computer will
     display the images).  At this menu, you can press [SPACE] to bring up
     the Graphic Display Menu.  From this new menu, choose a graphic
     display to view.  For example, to run the WEB graphic display, press
     [H] at the Graphic Display Menu.  The pattern continues running until
     you press any key on your keyboard.  Note that the display may not
     stop immediately when you press a key; there may be a small delay
     before the image stops.  Once the art display has stopped you will
     see on the very top of your screen the Display Screen Menu.  To get
     back to the Graphic Display Menu, press [M] or [ESC].  Then, to
     return to the Main Menu, press [ESC].

        From the Graphic Display Menu, the [A] through [Z] keys invoke the
     various art designs, but you may also use the arrow keys to move the
     highlight bar to the function or display you want, then press
     [ENTER].


     ^1HOW TO USE ABART2'S MENUS^0

        ABART2's menus are simply a list of options.  You choose from the
     list by pressing the key that is associated with that option or use
     the arrow keys to highlight the desired option and then press
     [ENTER].  Press [F1] to bring up context sensitive help from any of
     the menus.  Press [ESC] to exit out of a user prompt or to return to
     the previous menu.

        ABART2 has many menus.  If you happen to get lost, just keep
     pressing [ESC].  This will eventually put you back to the Main Menu.


     ^1THE CASE OF THE MISSING OPTIONS^0

        You may notice that some of your menus are missing options that
     you read about here or see on the help screens.  This is normal.  Not
     all options are valid for all video types.  For example, an EGA video
     type does not support a 256 color mode.  So you will not see any 256
     color mode options on your EGA or CGA menus.


     ^1MAIN MENU^0

        This is the very first menu that you will see in ABART2.  Below is
     a description of each option.

     [SPACE].....Run Graphic Display Menu which allows you to select a
                 display.

     [F1]........Display help.

     [SHIFT-F1]..Display all help screens in order.

     [F2]........Enter a value that will act as a random number seed for
                 the patterns drawn.  Changing this gives a new set of
                 patterns.

     [F3]........Run Video Mode Menu which allows you to change the video
                 mode that graphic displays run in.  See VIDEO MODE MENU
                 below.

     [F4]........Set the number of seconds that a completed display
                 remains on the screen before continuing with a new
                 display.

     [F5]........Vary the speed at which displays are drawn.  The higher
                 the value you set, the slower the displays are drawn.

     [F6]........Choose which displays to run and how long each one will
                 run.  See CONTINUOUS DISPLAY SET MENU below.

     [F7]........Toggle between a black display background and a random
                 color during palette changes.  EGA/VGA only.

     [F8]........Toggle Cycle Color On and OFF.  When ON, yields a color
                 rainbow effect on displays.  VGA 256 color mode only.

     [F9]........Toggle Drifting Colors ON and OFF.  When ON, after a
                 display has completed, the colors will drift (move).  VGA
                 256 color mode only.

     [F10].......Slow down the speed at which colors drift.  The higher
                 the value, the slower the colors drift.  The lower the
                 value, the faster the colors drift.

     [ALT-B].....Enter text that will appear on graphic displays as a one
                 line banner.

     [ALT-C].....Set drifting color chunk size.  Set to larger values for
                 speed.  Set to smaller values to stop snow on screen.
                 VGA 256 color mode only.

     [ALT-D].....Set the drifting color method.  The options are below.

                 BIOS: Generic method.  Use only if register mode does
                       not work.
                 REGISTER: The normal mode to use.
                 286/386 REGISTER: The best, but only for 286 or 386 PCs.

     [ALT-L].....Load display settings from a disk file.

     [ALT-S].....Save display settings to a disk file.

     [ALT-R].....Restore default display settings.

     [ALT-T].....Toggle textscreen colors.

     [ESC].......Exit ABART2.


     ^1VIDEO MODE MENU^0

        From this menu (invoked by [F3] from Main Menu), you can change
     the video mode setting which affects the resolution and number of
     colors displayed.  However, if your video card does not support a
     given video mode, then those modes will not be shown on this menu.
     ABART2 supports 2 modes for CGA, 5 modes for EGA, and 8 modes for
     VGA.

        After you have chosen a video mode, you will be shown the colors
     it supports and the Set Palette Menu.  See SET PALETTE MENU below.

        Most displays will react differently depending on the mode you
     set.  For example, if you choose a low resolution mode such as one of
     the 320 by 200 modes, ABART2 will tighten up pixel gaps between lines
     so that they do not look too open.  In the VGA 256 color mode, this
     also gives a better rainbow effect.

        You can also press [F1] for help and [ESC] to exit to Main Menu.


     ^1SET PALETTE MENU^0

        From this menu (invoked by [1] - [8] from Video Mode Menu), the
     following options are available.

     [V].........Exit to Video Mode Menu.

     [P].........Set to next palette of 4.  CGA adapter, low res 4 color
                 mode only.

     [S].........Run User Set Palette Menu.  This allows you to change the
                 colors displayed.  See USER SET PALETTE MENU below.

     [R].........Randomly change the display colors.

     [N].........Set palette colors back to normal.

     [I].........Run Cycle Colors Range Menu which lets you set a range of
                 colors to cycle through.  VGA 256 color mode only.  See
                 CYCLE COLORS RANGE MENU below.

     [1-5].......Set colors to preset values.  VGA 256 color mode only.

     [F1]........Display help.

     [ESC].......Exit to Main Menu.

     NOTE:  It is possible to set the palette so that the foreground and
     background colors are the same causing the screen to appear blank.
     If this happens, go to the Set Palette Menu and press [N] (it is the
     default choice) to restore the palette to normal.  From Main Menu,
     type [F3] [ENTER] [ENTER] or [F3] [ENTER] [N].


     ^1USER SET PALETTE MENU^0

        From this menu (invoked by [S] from Set Palette Menu), you can
     change (remap) the color palettes yourself (for EGA and VGA only).
     You may remap all 16 colors for the EGA and the first 16 colors for
     the VGA.

        Use the [LEFTARROW] and [RIGHTARROW] keys to choose one of the 16
     colors to be remapped.  The first color bar is the background color.
     The small up arrow on your screen points to the color to be changed.

        For EGA:  Use the [UPARROW] and [DOWNARROW] keys to set the color
                  value.  There are 64 (0 to 63) values you may assign to
                  each of the 16 colors.

        For VGA:  You can remap the first 16 colors to any of 262,144
                  colors.  You do this by changing the intensity of the
                  Red, Green, or Blue components that make up the VGA
                  color spectrum.  Each component has 64 (0 to 63)
                  intensities.

        Component     Increases Component       Decreases Component
          Red                 [R]                       [T]
          Green               [G]                       [H]
          Blue                [B]                       [N]

        You can also press [F1] for help and [ESC] to exit to Set Palette
     Menu.


     ^1CYCLE COLORS RANGE MENU^0

        From this menu (invoked by [I] from Set Palette Menu), you can
     specify the range of colors used for displays (for VGA 256 color mode
     only).  The cycle colors toggle must be ON ([F8] from Main Menu).
     When the cycle colors toggle is OFF, ABART2 picks colors at random.

        With cycle colors ON, ABART2 starts with the low value (color) of
     the range, doing a line of the drawing, then picks the next value in
     the range and draws another line, and so on.  When the high end of
     the range is reached, ABART2 starts back at the low value.  Cycle
     colors is only effective in VGA 256 color mode.

        Use the [RIGHTARROW] and [LEFTARROW] keys to increase or decrease
     the low value.  Use the [HOME] and [PGUP] keys to increase or
     decrease the high value.  VGA 256 colors are as follows:

          0 -  15  CGA-Compatible
         16 -  31  Gray scale
         32 - 103  High intensity
        104 - 175  Moderate intensity
        176 - 247  Low intensity
        248 - 255  Black

        You can also press [F1] for help and [ESC] to exit to Main Menu.


     ^1GRAPHIC DISPLAY MENU^0

        From this menu (invoked by [SPACE] from Main Menu), you can view  
     the graphic art displays, get help, or return to the Main Menu.  The
     commands available are below.

     [A-Z].......Run a graphic art display.  While a display is running
                 press any key to stop.  This will bring up the Display
                 Screen Menu.

     [F1]........Display help.

     [ESC].......Exit to Main Menu.


     ^1DISPLAY SCREEN MENU^0

        While viewing a graphic art display, press any key to stop and
     bring up the Display Screen Menu.  There may be a small delay before
     the display stops (fraction of a second to a few seconds).  The
     available options are below.

     [F1HELP]....Display help.

     [C].........Clear screen and continue with the graphic display.

     [M] or
     [ESC].......Exit to Graphic Display Menu or Main Menu (depending on
                 how you got here).

     [G].........Clear the screen and start the graphic display over.

     [P].........Randomly change the colors you see.  Keep pressing this
                 key until you like a particular set of colors.  For CGA,
                 the next palette, if any, will appear.

        Note for option [P], the background will always be black unless
     the Main Menu [F7] option is used to toggle the background color.


     ^1SAVING AND LOADING SETTINGS^0

        At the Main Menu, [ALT-S] allows you to save the current ABART2
     settings to a disk file, and [ALT-L] allows you to load these saved
     settings at any time.  Thus, if you have worked out a favorite set
     up, it can easily be saved and reloaded.  Six files have been setup
     for VGA systems.  See PRESET FILES FOR VGA below.

        For both load and save, you will be asked to enter a file name.
     Type in the name you want to use and press [ENTER].  To see a
     directory listing of the current files on disk, simply press [ENTER]
     at the file name prompt.  You will be prompted for a directory to
     list.  Type in the directory you want and press [ENTER].  For the
     current directory, just press [ENTER].  Once the directory list is
     shown, use the [UPARROW], [DOWNARROW], [HOME], [END], [PGUP], and
     [PGDN] keys to highlight a file.  Then press [ENTER] to save or load
     that file.  You will be prompted if you are about to overwrite any
     current file.


     ^1PRESET FILES FOR VGA^0

        ABART2 comes with six preset files for VGA systems.  You can load
     and run them from the Main Menu with [ALT-L].  Below are the preset
     VGA files.

        VGA1.AD     Red, green, blue smooth rainbow.
        VGA2.AD     Red background with blue smooth rainbow graphics.
        VGA3.AD     Rainbow with banner "Out to lunch".
        VGA4.AD     Psychedelic.  Far out.  Crazy.
        VGA5.AD     Mostly green with a bit of red.
        VGA6.AD     Multi-color rainbow where colors get very bright then
                    drop to black.


     ^1CONTINUOUS DISPLAY SET MENU^0

        This option (invoked by [F6] from Main Menu), lets you tell ABART2
     which displays to run and how long to run each one.  Once you have
     made your choices, ABART2 will cycle through each display and run it
     for the time you set.  To stop the continuous display, press any key
     to bring up the Display Screen Menu.  Then press [ESC] or [M] for the
     Main Menu.

        To set a display, move the highlight bar to one of the displays
     you want to run, then press [ENTER].  You will be prompted for a time
     to run that display.  Keep repeating this process until you have
     selected all the displays you want to run.  Then press [F2] to start.
     To reset all display times to 0, press [F3].  Press [ESC] for the
     Main Menu.


     ^1OUTSIDE BBD^0

        To run this program outside ^1BIG BLUE DISK^0, type ^1ABART2^0.

     Disk files this program uses:
^FABART2.EXE
^FVGA1.AD
^FVGA2.AD
^FVGA3.AD
^FVGA4.AD
^FVGA5.AD
^FVGA6.AD
