Version 19.6 is an update of Fractint based on the developer's version 19.50 patch 50. New features include:
IF(boolean)
statements
ELSEIF(boolean) [any number of these are permitted in a block]
statements
ELSE [if used, only one is permitted in a block]
statements
ENDIF
Note that ELSEIF() does not require a separate ENDIF. Each branching instruction must be a separate formula statement, separated from other statements by a comma or an end of line. There is a limit of 200 branching instructions per formula (ELSEIF counts as two branching instructions). Unlimited nesting is permitted; each ELSEIF, ELSE, and ENDIF relates to the immediately preceding "non endif'ed" IF. An IF() and its ENDIF cannot traverse the end of the initialization section of the formula.
CTRL+DOWN_ARROW Move screen down one line
CTRL+UP_ARROW Move screen up one line
CTRL+RIGHT_ARROW Move screen right one column
CTRL+LEFT_ARROW Move screen left one column
CTRL+PAGE_DOWN Move screen down one view screen
CTRL+PAGE_UP Move screen up one view screen
CTRL+HOME Go to beginning of entry
CTRL+END Go to end of entry
Direction keys without the CONTROL key depressed maintain their current roles in moving the cursor in the entry prompt boxes.
In the F2 screen, the same scrolling is available; the CONTROL key does not need to be depressed.
formulas frm: lsystem lsys: ifs ifs:
for examples:
frm:mandel {
z=c=pixel:
z = z*z + c
|z| < 4
}
The prefix is an identifier, not part of the name itself. Thus, the parameter in the image entry would read "formulaname=mandel". The formulafile= parameter need not, and probably should not, name the PAR file itself - the search of the PAR file is automatic.
Formulas, ifs, and lsys entries in a PAR file will not be shown on the menu screen for the PAR file, and are accessible only in connection with running the parameter entry which calls for the formula. Also, PAR files are not searched when looking for a formula, ifs, or lsystem entry in connection with restoring a .gif file. You will need to copy these entries from the PAR file into .frm, .ifs, and .l files as applicable (taking care, of course, to delete the identifier prefixes) in order to make general use of them.
Ctrl-Left (autokey symbol "CTRL_LEFT")
Ctrl-Down ("CTRL_DOWN")
Ctrl-Up ("CTRL_UP")
Ctrl-Home ("CTRL_HOME")
Ctrl-End ("CTRL_END")
Run the following .key file with command line parameters fastrestore=yes and askvideo=no (and, if you don't set your video mode in sstools.ini, video=[your standard video mode]) and your coworkers will get a continuous display of the .gif files in your default .gif directory when you go to lunch (come on, we know you have Fractint on your hard drive at work):
"r"
MORE:
ENTER
CALCWAIT
WAIT 30
"R"
CTRL_RIGHT
GOTO MORE
Version 19.5 is a bug-fix release for version 19.4 based on the developer's version 19.40 patch 11. As always, we added a few new features along with the bug fixes.
New Comment= command. You can automatically set any of the four PAR comments, and can include variables in the comments such as the much-requested $calctime$ and $date$. Fractint now writes ';;' for empty comments above the last comment from the comment= command. This prevents comments from moving positions when the PAR is reloaded.
New recordcolors= command. If you place recordcolors=y in your SSTOOLS.INI, compressed colors will always be written in your PARS. If you want to remember what the map file was (assuming the colors were loaded from one), try recordcolors=c. This is exactly like recordcolors=y except that the map file (if any) is written to a parfile comment.
Added new parser constants: 1. whitesq parser constant = (row+col)&1 2. scrnpix parser constant = (col,row) 3. scrnmax parser constant = (xdots, ydots) 4. maxit parser constant = (maxit,0)
Added "\" linewrap for formula files.
Made the round function consistent in all modes. Now round(z) is always (floor(x+.5)+i*floor(y+.5)). In version 19.4, in floating point mode with type=formula, round() used the coprocessor "nearest or even" rounding. Version 19.5 always rounds xxx.5 up.
Fixed a bug that caused a crash when zooming out with certain functions in integer mode.
Fixed a bug that caused a crash when attempting 3d=overlay without a filename in batch mode.
Fixed a bug that caused part of the video table to not show when compiled by Borland.
Fixed a bug that kept the last image browsed from showing up when you regenerate an image and then start the browser again.
Fixed a bug that loaded images with the wrong aspect ratio when using the browser with the view window turned on, and the file image size was not the same as the screen image size.
Version 19.4 is a bug-fix release for version 19.3 based on the developer's version 19.30 patch 18. But a few new features did slip in when we weren't looking.
New functions are now available for type=formula and general function variable use. They are the rounding functions: floor(), ceil(), trunc(), and round()
New larger showdot "turtle" to enable better seeing which pixel is currently being calculated. The syntax is showdot= <color>/<size>, but the color parameter can now be one of auto, bright, medium, and dark in addition to the previously-supported color number value.
The <g> command now remembers the last command.
Added the ability to load images into a view window. This can be used with the browser to browse images larger than the current image.
Added George Martin's new integrated entry-finding code. Fractint is now more tolerant of text between entries, and the internal code is much cleaner than before.
Added Bert Tyler's new VESA truecolor video drivers. These don't do anything yet; we've just added the video drivers for testing. Work goes on ...
To test out the new modes, try fractint debug=500 type=test and select a new truecolor mode. They only work with video boards having VESA truecolor support. Some "non-standard VESA" modes (an unfortunate oxymoron if there ever was one) can also be supported by editing FRACTINT.CFG. These vendor-specific "VESA" modes tend to make Bert, our video expert, real grumpy ...
Now for the squashed bugs report:
Ranges is working again.
Fixed a browser bug that caused a crash when the browser cross-hairs become too small.
Fixed a bug which put the browser into an infinite loop if the history feature was used to try and access a deleted or renamed image that was still in the history stack.
Fixed bug that caused any command with greater than 16 parameters to fail, most notably textcolors and ranges.
Fixed a center-mag<->corners conversion bug that occurred with rotated images. arbitrary precision also (test with debug=3200).
Fixed bug that allowed the matherr debugging file to grow arbitrarily large. Matherr file is limited to 100 messages for each fractal.
Fixed bug that affected some Icons3d types, which were broken due to a very subtle bug in apparently good code caused by the compiler optimizer.
Version 19.3 is a bug-fix release for version 19.2 based on the developer's version 19.21 patch 30.
The biggest changes from 19.2 to 19.3 are the fixing of the color logmap function for maximum iterations greater than 32K, and a large increase in the maximum size of an individual formula and the maximum number of entries in formula, parameter, ifs, and lsystem files.
Changes from 19.2 to 19.3 include:
Added better math function error trapping for the formula parser. This can change the rendering of some PAR files using type=formula. If reset=1920 is included in the PAR file, the new error trapping is disabled.
Fixed an old, rare, but nasty bug that stripped trailing zeros from the exponents of floating point numbers written to PAR files.
Ctrl-ins and Ctrl-Del now change the browser frame colors.
Fixed bug that occurred when writing PAR files containing a video= line with a four character video mode.
Added batch facility to copy fractal information and color in GIFs to PAR format.
Added current column to the <tab> screen.
Removed support for reading Targa files.
Added backwards compatibility for the fractal type fn(z*z).
Added support for expanded and extended memory to the browser. Use expanded memory if you don't have at least 4 MB of extended memory.
Added pi and e to constants that the formula parser recognizes. Fixed parser so that constants are recognized correctly.
Added docs for freestyle mode in the colour editor.
Fixed bug involving comments between formula entries.
Allow renaming Fractint.exe without losing access to fractint's help files.
Center-mag is now the default method for storing coordinates in PAR files.
Increased limit on number of operations in a formula entry from 250 to over 2000. In most cases memory use is actually less than before because of use of existing memory arrays.
Fixed a bug that caused the image to regenerate when the <y> screen was accessed, but nothing was changed (or color cycle range was changed).
Fixed a bug that caused saved partial images that used logmap to use the incorrect logmap routine when restored (GIFs & PARs).
Made the solid guessing stop pass parameter save to GIFs and PARS.
Added truecolor=yes command. This causes the iterations for each point to be written to a 24-bit Targa truecolor file called iterates.tga. Maxiter is also written to the file. This allows a simple outboard program to assign truecolors to iterations. Passes=1 is forced, but symmetry works. (This function may go away in the future when real truecolor support is implemented.)
Fixed bug that caused PARs to have incorrect number of parameters when a formula based GIF was loaded and a PAR made immediately.
Added additional bailout tests manh and manr. See Bailout Test.
Fixed <Z> screen so bailout test can be changed when potential is being used.
Fixed bug that caused large filename numbers to increment incorrectly.
Added new guessing options g1, g2, etc. that cause guessing to terminate before the last pass.
Added new orbitsave=sound option that causes orbits with sound on to write to a file sound.txt. The values written are the Hertz values for each orbit point. The time is written out in milliseconds once per pixel.
Added documentation for making demm images to match ones made prior to version 16.
Added key pressed check to autologmap so it is possible to bailout with a high maxit value.
Made all floating point types capable of zooming out past (32,32).
Added the formula parameters p1, p2, and p3 to the <tab> screen.
Added stereo pair feature to stereo options menu.
Fixed a bug that caused julia_inverse to continue after completed.
Bignumber library rearranged. DOS midnight bug fix, so total time of images run overnight is now correct.
Added logmap backwards compatibility for pre-version 19.2 images.
Browser problem with flipped images fixed.
Changed default corners to 4:3 aspect for types sierpinski, popcorn, pickover, popcornjul, tim's_error, martin, and halley.
Added a range check for type=ants numants parameter.
RDS save command is no longer case sensitive.
Added the color number to the status area in the palette editor.
Changed logmap and distest to a long variable to accomodate the version 19.0 change to long maxit.
Added a pixel-at-a-time routine to calculate the logmap values on the fly when memory is low or maxit > 32767. Use logmode=fly to use with maxit < 32767. Note: ranges still doesn't work with maxit > 32767.
Extended error checking to set the overflow variable when a zero denominator is found. Added checking of overflow in a few places where it is needed.
Added backwards compatibility for the old "broken" integer parser mod function.
Fixed the maximum zoom out of the integer type fn(z*z) (and others) so the user doesn't get thrown out to DOS.
Fixed writing of olddemmcolors variable to PAR file.
Version 19.2 is a bug-fix release for version 19.1. Changes from 19.1 to 19.2 include:
Fixed the 3D function, which was broken in 19.1 due to a side-effect of a repair of a minor bug in 19.0. Arrgghh! This is the main reason for the release of this version so quickly.
Fixed a bug that caused the Julia inverse window and the orbits window to lose their place after loading a color map.
Fixed a bug that causes corners to be lost when too many digits are entered.
Added an enhanced ants automaton by Luciano Genero and Fulvio Cappelli.
New showorbit command allows orbits-during-generation feature to be turned on by default. Expanded limits of Hertz command to 20 to 15000.
Targa 3D files are now correctly written to workdir rather than tempdir.
Uncommented garbage between file entries is now ignored. (But note that "{" must be on same line as entry name.)
Fixed savename update logic.
Version 19.1 is a bug-fix release for version 19.0. Changes from 19.0 to 19.1 include:
Disabled the F6 (corners) key when in the parameters screen (<z>) for arbitrary precision.
IFS formulas now show in <z> screen.
Allow RDS image maps of arbitrary dimensions.
Touched up Mandelbrot/Julia <Space> toggle logic.
Fractint now remembers map name, and uses the mapfile path correctly, and now allows periods in directory names.
Fixed tab bug that caused problems when interrupting a restore of an arbitrary precision image.
Repaired savename logic. No longer show (usually truncated) full path of the saved file in the screen.
Fixed double to arbitrary precision transition with 90 degree images. (This only failed before when the image was rotated exactly 90 degrees.)
Corrected docs directory errors that reported several commands such as PARDIR= that were not implemented. Documented the color cycling HOME function.
Fixed Mandelbrot/Julia types with bailout less than 4 (try it, results are interesting!)
Fixed browser delete feature which left a box on the screen after deleting and exiting browser feature.
More changes in filename processing logic. ".\" is now recognized as the current directory and is expanded to its full path name. It is now possible, although not recommended, to designate the root directory of a disk as the desired search directory.
Fixed integer math Mandelbrot bug for 286 or lower machines.
Fixed problem of reading some Lsys files incorrectly (distribution PENROSE.L file was broken unless first line was commented.)
Fixed problem that caused endless loop in RDS with bad input values.
Made reading the current directory first optional, added the new curdir=yes command for times when you want to use current directory files.
Fixed problem with complexpower() function ("x^y" formula operator) in the case where x == 0. (Note that formulas where 0^0 appears for every every pixel are considered broken and no promises made.)
Prevented aspect ratio drift as you zoom. If you want to make tiny adjustments, use new ASPECTDRIFT=0 command.
Inside=bof60 and bof61 options now work correctly with the formula parser.
We discovered the calculation time is no good after 24 days, so instead of the time you will now get the message "A Really Long Time!!! (> 24.855 days)". We thought you'd like to know ... A prize for the first person who actually *sees* this message!
New arbitrary precision math allows types mandelbrot, julia, manzpower, and julzpower to zoom to 10^1600. See Arbitrary Precision and Deep Zooming.
New Random Dot Stereogram feature using <Ctrl>-<S>. Thanks to Paul De Leeuw for contributing this feature. For more, see Random Dot Stereograms (RDS).
New browser invoked by the <l> command allows you to see the relationships of a family of images within the current corners values. See Browse Commands and Browser Parameters. Thanks to Robin Bussell for contributing this feature.
Added four bailout tests: real, imag, or, and. These are set on the <Z> screen of the fractal types for which they work. The default is still mod. See Bailout Test.
New asin, asinh, acos, acosh, atan, atanh, sqrt, abs (abs(x)+i*abs(y)), and cabs (sqrt(x*x + y*y)) functions added to function variables and parser.
New fractal types types chip, quadruptwo, threeply, phoenixcplx, mandphoenixclx, and ant automaton.
Increased maximum iterations to 2,147,483,647 and maximum bailout to 2,100,000,000 when using floating point math.
New path/directory management. Fractint now remembers the pathname of command-line filenames. This means that you can specifiy directories where your files reside in SSTOOLS.INI. In what follows, <path> can be a directory, a filename, or a full path.
File SSTOOLS.INI Command Comments
==========================================================================
PAR directory parmfile=<path>
GIF files for reading filename=<path>
MAP files map=<path>
Autokey files autokeyname=<path>
GIF files for saving savename=<path>
Print file printfile=<path>
Formula files formulafile=<path>
Lsystem file lfile=<path>
IFS file ifsfile=<path>
Miscellaneous files workdir=<path> new command
Temporary files tempdir=<path> new command
If the directories do not exist, Fractint gives an error message on runup with the option to continue.
Fractint now searches all FRM, IFS, LSYS, and PAR files in the designated directory for entries. The number of entries in files has been greatly increased from 200 to 2000. Comment support in these files is improved.
Parameters shown in <z> screen now match those used in a formula.
Distance estimator logic has been overhauled, with the variable olddemmcolors added for backward compatibility.
New floating point code for Lsystems from Nick Wilt greatly speeds up image generation.
Enhanced fast parser from Chuck Ebbert makes floating point formula fractals faster than built-in types.
Enhanced the history command to include all parameters, colors, and even .frm, .l, and .ifs file names and entries. Number of history sets remembered can be set with the maxhistory=<nnn> command to save memory.
Enhanced center-mag coordinates to support rotated/stretched/skewed zoom boxes.
Added new parameter to built-in Halley for comparison with formula type, also added new parameter to Frothybasin type.
Added color number to orbits numbers <n> display.
Added two new parameters to distest= to allow specifying resolution. This allows making resolution-independent distance estimator images.
Fixed bug that caused the "big red switch" bug if '(' appeared in random uncommented formula file text, but fair warning, we don't officially support uncommented text in FRM files.
Symmetry now works for the Marksjulia type and Marksmandel types.
Full path no longer written in PAR files with <b> command.
Fixed fractal type fn(z*z) so that zooming out will no longer dump you out to DOS, affecting zoomed out integer images made with this type.
Fixed a float to fudged integer conversion that affects integer fractal types fn(z*z) and fn*fn. This has only a minor impact on integer images made with these types.
Default drive and directory restored after dropping to DOS, in case you changed it while under DOS.
Added support for inversion to the formula parser (type=formula).
Increased maximum number of files listed by <r> command to 2977 from 300.
Added outside=atan option.
Added faster auto logmap logic.
The [b] command now causes filenames only to be written in PAR files.
Fractint will now search directories in the PATH for files not found in the requested the requested directory or the current directory. If you place .MAP, .FRM, etc. in directories in your PATH, then Fractint will find them.
Fixed bug that caused fractals using PI symmetry to fail at high resolution.
Fractals interrupted with [3] or [r] can now resume.
The palette editor's [u] (undo) now works.
The [s] command in orbit/Julia window mode is no longer case sensitive.
Added warnings that the POV-Ray output is obsolete (but has been left in). Use POV-Ray's height field facility instead or create and convert RAW files.
Fixed several IFS bugs.
Overlay tuning - the Mandelbrot/Julia Set fractals are now back up to 17.x speeds
Disk Video modes now work correctly with VESA video adapters (they used to use the same array for different purposes, confusing each other)
1024x768x256 and 2048x2048x256 disk video modes work again
Parameter-file processing no longer crashes Fractint if it attempts to run a formula requiring access to a non-existent FRM file
IFS arrays no longer overrun their array space
type=cellular fixes
"autologmap=2" now correctly picks up the minimum color
The use of disk-video mode with random-access fractal types is now legal (it generates a warning message but lets you proceed if you really want to)
The Lsystems "spinning-wheel" now spins slower (removing needless overhead)
Changes to contributors' addresses in the Help screens
New fractal types:
19 new fractal types, including:
New fractal types - 'lambda(fn||fn)', 'julia(fn||fn)', 'manlam(fn||fn)', 'mandel(fn||fn)', 'halley', 'phoenix', 'mandphoenix', 'cellular', generalized bifurcation, and 'bifmay' - from Jonathan Osuch.
New Mandelcloud, Quaternion, Dynamic System, Cellular Automata fractal types from Ken Shirriff.
New HyperComplex fractal types from Timothy Wegner
New ICON type from Dan Farmer, including a PAR file of examples.
New Frothy Basin fractal types (and PAR entries) by Wesley Loewer
MIIM (Modified Inverse Iteration Method) implementation of Inverse Julia from Michael Snyder.
New Inverse Julia fractal type from Juan Buhler.
New floating-point versions of Markslambda, Marksmandel, Mandel4, and Julia4 types (chosen automatically if the floating-point option is enabled).
New options/features:
New assembler-based parser logic from Chuck Ebbert - significantly faster than the C-based code it replaces!
New assembler-based Lyapunov logic from Nicholas Wilt and Wes Loewer. Roughly six times faster than the old version!
New Orbits-on-a-window / Julia-in-a-window options: 1) The old Overlay option is now '#' (Shift-3). 2) During generation, 'O' brings up orbits (as before) - after generation, 'O' brings up new orbits Windows mode. 3) Control-O brings up new orbits Windows mode at any time. 4) Spacebar toggles between Inverse Julia mode and the Julia set and back to the Mandelbrot set. These new "in-a-window" modes are really neat! See Orbits Window and Julia Toggle Spacebar Commands for details.
New multi-image GIF support in the [B] command. You can now generate 65535x65535x256 fractal images using Fractint (if you have the disk space, of course). This option builds special PAR entries and a MAKEMIG.BAT file that you later use to invoke Fractint multiple times to generate individual sections of the image and (in a final step) stitch them all together. If your other software can't handle Multiple-image GIFs, a SIMPLGIF program is also supplied that converts MIGS into simgle-image GIFs. Press F1 at the [B] prompts screen for details.
Fractint's decoder now handles Multi-Image Gifs.
New SuperVGA/VESA Autodetect logic from the latest version of VGAKIT. Sure hope we didn't break anything.
New register-compatible 8514/A code from Jonathan Osuch. By default, Fractint now looks first for the presence of an 8514/A register- compatible adapter and then (and only if it doesn't find one) the presence of the 8514/A API (IE, HDILOAD is no longer necessary for register-compatible "8514/a" adapters). Fractint can be forced to use the 8514/A API by using a new command-line option, "afi=yes". Jonathan also added ATI's "8514/a-style" 800x600x256 and 1280x1024x16 modes.
New XGA-detection logic for ISA-based XGA-2 systems.
The palette editor now has a "freestyle" editing option. See Palette Editing Commands for details.
Fractint is now more "batch file" friendly. When running Fractint from a batch file, pressing any key will cause Fractint to exit with an errorlevel = 2. Any error that interrupts an image save to disk will cause an exit with errorlevel = 2. Any error that prevents an image from being generated will cause an exit with errorlevel = 1.
New Control-X, Control-Y, and Control-Z options flip a fractal image along the X-axis, Y-axis, and Origin, respectively.
New area calculation mode in TAB screen from Ken Shirriff (for accuracy use inside=0).
The TAB screen now indicates when the Integer Math algorithms are in use.
The palette must now be explicitly changed, it will not reset to the default unexpectedly when doing things like switching video modes.
The Julibrot type has been generalized. Julibrot fractals can now be generated from PAR files.
Added [b] command support for viewwindows.
Added room for two additional PAR comments in the [B] command
New coloring method for IFS shows which parts of fractal came from which transform.
Added attractor basin phase plotting for Julia sets from Ken Shirriff.
Improved finite attractor code to find more attractors from Ken Shirriff.
New zero function, to be used in PAR files to replace old integer tan, tanh
Debugflag=10000 now reports video chipset in use as well as CPU/FPU type and available memory
Added 6 additional parameters for params= for those fractal types that need them.
New 'matherr()' logic lets Fractint get more aggressive when these errors happen.
New autologmap option (log=+-2) from Robin Bussell that ensures that all palette values are used by searching the screen border for the lowest value and then setting log= to +- that color.
Two new diffusion options - falling and square cavity.
Three new Editpal commands: '!', '@' and '#' commands (that's [shift-1], [shift-2], and [shift-3]) to swap R < - > G, G < - > B, R < - > B.
Parameter files now use a slightly shorter maximum line length, making them a bit more readable when stuffed into messages on CompuServe.
Plasma now has 16-bit .POT output for use with Ray tracers. The "old" algorithm has been modified so that the plasma effect is independent of resolution.
Slight modification to the Raytrace code to make it compatible with Rayshade 4.0 patch level 6.
Improved boundary-tracing logic from Wesley Loewer.
Command-line parameters can now be entered on-the-fly using the [g] key thanks to Ken Shirriff.
Dithered gif images can now be loaded onto a b/w display. Thanks to Ken Shirriff.
Pictures can now be output as compressed PostScript. Thanks to Ken Shirriff.
Periodicity is a new inside coloring option. Thanks to Ken Shirriff.
Fixes: symmetry values for the SQR functions, bailout for the floating- pt versions of 'lambdafn' and 'mandelfn' fractals from Jonathan Osuch.
"Flip", "conj" operators are now selectable in the parser
New DXF Raytracing option from Dennis Bragg.
Improved boundary-tracing logic from Wesley Loewer.
New MSC7-style overlay structure is used if MAKEFRAC.BAT specifies MSC7. (with new FRACTINT.DEF and FRACTINT.LNK files for MSC7 users). Several modules have been re-organized to take advantage of this new overlay capability if compiled under MSC7.
Fractint now looks first any embedded help inside FRACTINT.EXE, and then for an external FRACTINT.HLP file before giving up. Previous releases required that the help text be embedded inside FRACTINT.EXE.
Corrected formulas displayed for Marksmandel, Cmplxmarksmandel, and associated julia types.
BTM and precision fixes.
Symmetry logic changed for various "outside=" options
Symmetry value for EXP function in lambdafn and lambda(fn||fn) fixed.
Fixed bug where math errors prevented save in batch mode.
The [3] and [r] commands no longer destroy image -- user can back out with ESC and image is still there.
Fixed display of correct number of Julibrot parameters, and Julibrot relaxes and doesn't constantly force ALTERN.MAP.
Fixed tesseral type for condition when border is all one color but center contains image.
Fixed integer mandel and julia when used with parameters > +1.99 and < -1.99
Eliminated recalculation when generating a julia type from a mandelbrot type when the 'z' screen is viewed for the first time.
Minor logic change to prevent double-clutching into and out of graphics mode when pressing, say, the 'x' key from a menu screen.
Changed non-US phone number for the Houston Public (Software) Library
The "Y" screen is now "Extended Options" instead of "Extended Doodads"
...and probably a lot more bux-fixes that we've since forgotten that we've implemented.
- Fixed a bug which caused Fractint to hang when a Continuous Potential Bailout value was set (using the 'Y') screen and then the 'Z' screen was activated.
- fixed a bug which caused "batch=yes" runs to abort whenever any key was pressed.
- bug-fixes in the Stereo3D/Targa logic from Marc Reinig.
- Fractint now works correctly again on FPU-less 8088s when zoomed deeply into the Mandelbrot/Julia sets
- The current image is no longer marked as "not resumable" on a Shell-To-Dos ("D") command.
- fixed a bug which prevented the "help" functions from working properly during fractal-type selection for some fractal types.
- fixed a bug which caused PCs with no FPU to lock up when they attempted to use some fractal types.
- fixed a color-cycling bug which caused the palette to single-step when you pressed ESCAPE to exit color-cycling.
- fixed the action of the '<' and '>' keys during color-cycling.
New fractal types (but of course!):
Lyapunov Fractals from Roy Murphy (see Lyapunov Fractals for details)
'BifStewart' (Stewart Map bifurcation) fractal type and new bifurcation parameters (filter cycles, seed population) from Kevin Allen.
Lorenz3d1, Lorenz3d3, and Lorenz3d4 fractal types from Scott Taylor. Note that a bug in the Lorenz3d1 fractal prevents zooming-out from working with it at the moment.
Martin, Circle, and Hopalong (culled from Dewdney's Scientific American Article)
Lots of new entries in fractint.par.
New ".L" files (TILING.L, PENROSE.L)
New 'rand()' function added to the 'type=formula' parser
New 'Tesseral' calculation algorithm (use the 'X' option list to select it) from Chris Lusby Taylor.
New 'Fillcolor=' option shows off Boundary Tracing and Tesseral structure
inside=epscross and inside=startrail options taken from a paper by Kenneth Hooper, with credit also to Clifford Pickover
New Color Postscript Printer support from Scott Taylor.
Sound= command now works with [O]rbits and [R]ead commands.
New 'orbitdelay' option in X-screen and command-line interface
New "showdot=nn" command-line option that displays the pixel currently being worked on using the specified color value (useful for those lloooonngg images being calculated using solid guessing - "where is it now?").
New 'exitnoask=yes' commandline/SSTOOLS.INI option to avoid the final "are you sure?" screen
New plasma-cloud options. The interface at the moment (documented here and here only because it might change later) lets you: - use an alternate drawing algorithm that gives you an earlier preview of the finished image. - re-generate your favorite plasma cloud (say, at a higher resolution) by forcing a re-select of the random seed.
New 'N' (negative palette) option from Scott Taylor - the documentation at this point is: Pressing 'N' while in the palette editor will invert each color. It will convert only the current color if it is in 'x' mode, a range if in 'y' mode, and every color if not in either the 'x' or 'y' mode.
Speedups:
New, faster floating-point Mandelbrot/Julia set code from Wesley Loewer, Frank Fussenegger and Chris Lusby Taylor (in separate contributions).
Faster non-386 integer Mandelbrot code from Chris Lusby Taylor, Mike Gelvin and Bill Townsend (in separate contributions)
New integer Lsystems logic from Nicholas Wilt
Finite-Attractor fixups and Lambda/mandellambda speedups from Kevin Allen.
GIF Decoder speedups from Mike Gelvin
Bug-fixes and other enhancements:
Fractint now works with 8088-based AMSTRAD computers.
The video logic is improved so that (we think) fewer video boards will need "textsafe=save" for correct operation.
Fixed a bug in the VESA interface which effectively messed up adapters with unusual VESA-style access, such as STB's S3 chipset.
Fixed a color-cycling bug that would at times restore the wrong colors to your image if you exited out of color-cycling, displayed a 'help' screen, and then returned to the image.
Fixed the XGA video logic so that its 256-color modes use the same default 256 colors as the VGA adapter's 320x200x256 mode.
Fixed the 3D bug that caused bright spots on surfaces to show as black blotches of color 0 when using a light source.
Fixed an image-generation bug that sometimes caused image regeneration to restart even if not required if the image had been zoomed in to the point that floating-point had been automatically activated.
Added autodetection and 640x480x256 support for the Compaq Advanced VGA Systems board - I wonder if it works?
Added VGA register-compatible 320x240x256 video mode.
Fixed the "logmap=yes" option to (again) take effect for continuous potential images. This was broken in version 15.x.
The colors for the floating-point algorithm of the Julia fractal now match the colors for the integer algorithm.
If the GIF Encoder (the "Save" command) runs out of disk space, it now tells you about it.
If you select both the boundary-tracing algorithm and either "inside=0" or "outside=0", the algorithm will now give you an error message instead of silently failing.
Updated 3D logic from Marc Reinig.
Minor changes to permit IFS3D fractal types to be handled properly using the "B" command.
Minor changes to the "Obtaining the latest Source" section to refer to BBS access (Peter Longo's) and mailed diskettes (the Public (Software) Library).
Fix to cure some video problems reported with Amstrad 8088/8086-based PCs.
SuperVGA Autodetect fixed for older Tseng 3000 adapters.
New "adapter=" options to force the selection of specific SuperVGA adapter types. See Video Parameters for details.
Integer/Floating-Point math toggle is changed only temporarily if floating-point math is forced due to deep zooming.
Fractint now survives being modified by McAfee's "SCAN /AV" option.
Bug Fixes for Acrospin interface, 3D "Light Source Before Transformation" fill type, and GIF decoder.
New options in the [Z] parameters screen allow you to directly enter image coordinates.
New "inside=zmag" and "outside=real|imag|mult|summ" options.
The GIF Decoder now survives reading GIF files with a local color map. Improved IIT Math Coprocessor support.
New color-cycling single-step options, '<' and '>'.
Integrated online help / fractint.doc system from Ethan Nagel. To create a printable fractint.doc file see Startup Parameters .
Over 350 screens of online help! Try pressing [F1] just about anywhere!
New "autokey" feature. Type "demo" to run the included demo.bat and demo.key files for a great demonstration of Fractint. See Autokey Mode for details.
New [@] command executes a saved set of commands. The [b] command has changed to write the current image's parameters as a named set of commands in a structured file. Saved sets of commands can subsequently be executed with the [@] command. See Parameter Save/Restore Commands . A default "fractint.par" file is included with the release.
New [z] command allows changing fractal type-specific parameters without going back through the [t] (fractal type selection) screen.
Ray tracer interface from Marc Reinig, generates 3d transform output for a number of ray tracers; see "Interfacing with Ray Tracing Programs" .
Selection of video modes and structure of "fractint.cfg" have changed. If you have a customized fractint.cfg file, you'll have to rebuild it based on this release's version. You can customize the assignment of your favorite video modes to function keys; see Video Mode Function Keys . [delete is a new command key which goes directly to video mode selection.
New "cyclerange" option (command line and [y] options screen) from Hugh Steele. Limits color cycling to a specified range of colors.
Improved Distance Estimator Method algorithm from Phil Wilson.
New "ranges=" option from Norman Hills. See Logarithmic Palettes and Color Ranges for details.
type=formula definitions can use "variable functions" to select sin, cos, sinh, cosh, exp, log, etc at run time; new built-ins tan, tanh, cotan, cotanh, and flip are available with type=formula; see Type Formula
New [w] command in palette editing mode to convert image to greyscale
All "fn" fractal types (e.g. fn*fn) can now use new functions tan, tanh, cotan, cotanh, recip, and ident; bug in prior cos function fixed, new function cosxx (conjugate of cos) is the old erroneous cos calculation
New L-Systems from Herb Savage
New IFS types from Alex Matulich
Many new formulas in fractint.frm, including a large group from JM Collard-Richard
Generalized type manzpwr with complex exponent per Lee Skinner's request
Initial orbit parameter added to Gingerbreadman fractal type
New color maps (neon, royal, volcano, blues, headache) from Daniel Egnor
IFS type has changed to use a single file containing named entries (instead of a separate xxx.ifs file per type); the [z] command brings up IFS editor (used to be [i] command). See Barnsley IFS Fractals .
Much improved support for PaintJet printers; see PaintJet Parameters
From Scott Taylor:
Support for XGA video adapter
Support for Targa+ video adapter
16 color VGA mode enhancements:
Autokey feature, IIT fpu support, and some bug fixes publicly released in version 16.
New user interface! Enjoy! Some key assignments have changed and some have been removed.
New palette editing from Ethan Nagel.
Reduced memory requirements - Fractint now uses overlays and will run on a 512K machine.
New [v]iew command: use to get small window for fast preview, or to setup an image which will eventually be rendered on hard copy with different aspect ratio
L-System fractal type from Adrian Mariano
Postscript printer support from Scott Taylor
Better Tandy video support and faster CGA video from Joseph A Albrecht
16 bit continuous potential files have changed considerably; see the Continuous Potential section for details. Continuous potential is now resumable.
Mandelbrot calculation is faster again (thanks to Mike Gelvin) - double speed in 8086 32 bit case
Compressed log palette and sqrt palette from Chuck Ebbert
Calculation automatically resumes whenever current image is resumable and is not paused for a visible reason.
Auto increment of savename changed to be more predictable
New video modes:
Integer mandelbrot and julia now work with periodicitycheck
Initial zoombox color auto-picked for better contrast (usually)
New adapter=cga|ega|mcga|vga for systems having trouble with auto- detect
New textsafe=no|yes for systems having trouble with garbled text mode
[r] and [3] commands now present list of video modes to pick from; [r] can reduce a non-standard or unviewable image size.
Diffusion fractal type is now resumable after interrupt/save
Exitmode=n parameter, sets video mode to n when exiting from fractint When savetime is used with 1 and 2 pass and solid guessing, saves are deferred till the beginning of a new row, so that no calculation time is lost.
3d photographer's mode now allows the first image to be saved to disk
textcolors=mono|12/34/56/... -- allows setting user interface colors Code (again!) compilable under TC++ (we think!)
.TIW files (from v9.3) are no longer supported as input to 3D transformations
bug fixes:
Fixed startup and text screen problems on systems with VESA compliant video adapters.
New textsafe=save|bios options.
Fixes for EGA with monochrome monitor, and for Hercules Graphics Card. Both should now be auto-detected and operate correctly in text modes. Options adapter=egamono and adapter=hgc added.
Fixed color L-Systems to not use color 0 (black).
PostScript printing fix.
CompuServe announces the GIF89a on August 1, 1990, and Fractint supports it on August 2! GIF files can now contain fractal information! Fractint now saves its files in the new GIF89a format by default, and uses .GIF rather than .FRA as a default filetype. Note that Fractint still *looks* for a .FRA file on file restores if it can't find a .GIF file, and can be coerced into using the old GIF87a format with the new 'gif87a=yes' command-line option.
Pieter Branderhorst mounted a major campaign to get his name in lights:
Mouse interface: Diagonals, faster movement, improved feel. Mouse button assignments have changed - see the online help.
Zoom box enhancements: The zoom box can be rotated, stretched, skewed, and panned partially offscreen. See "More Zoom Box Commands".
FINALLY!! You asked for it and we (eventually, by talking Pieter into it [actually he grabbed it]) did it! Images can be saved before completion, for a subsequent restore and continue. See "Interrupting and Resuming" and "Batch Mode".
Off-center symmetry: Fractint now takes advantage of x or y axis symmetry anywhere on the screen to reduce drawing time.
Panning: If you move an image up, down, left, or right, and don't change anything else, only the new edges are calculated.
Disk-video caching - it is now possible, reasonable even, to do most things with disk video, including solid guessing, 3d, and plasma.
Logarithmic palette changed to use all colors. It now matches regular palette except near the "lake". "logmap=old" gets the old way.
New "savetime=nnn" parameter to save checkpoints during long calculations.
Calculation time is shown in [Tab] display.
Kevin C Allen Finite Attractor, Bifurcation Engine, Magnetic fractals...
Made Bifurcation/Verhulst into a generalized Fractal Engine (like StandardFractal, but for Bifurcation types), and implemented periodicity checking for Bifurcation types to speed them up.
Added Integer version of Verhulst Bifurcation (lots faster now). Integer is the default. The Floating-Point toggle works, too.
Added NEW Fractal types BIFLAMBDA, BIF+SINPI, and BIF=SINPI. These are Bifurcation types that make use of the new Engine. Floating- point/Integer toggle is available for BIFLAMBDA. The SINPI types are Floating-Point only, at this time.
Corrected the generation of the MandelLambda Set. Sorry, but it's always been wrong (up to v 12, at least). Ask Mandelbrot !
Added NEW Fractal types MAGNET1M, MAGNET1J, MAGNET2M, MAGNET2J from "The Beauty of Fractals". Floating-Point only, so far, but what do you expect with THESE formulae ?!
Added new symmetry types XAXIS NOIMAG and XAXIS NOREAL, required by the new MAGNETic Fractal types.
Added Finite Attractor Bailout (FAB) logic to detect when iterations are approaching a known finite attractor. This is required by the new MAGNETic Fractal types.
Added Finite Attractor Detection (FAD) logic which can be used by *SOME* Julia types prior to generating an image, to test for finite attractors, and find their values, for use by FAB logic. Can be used by the new MAGNETic Fractal Types, Lambda Sets, and some other Julia types too.
Mike Burkey sent us new tweaked video modes: VGA - 400x600x256 376x564x256 400x564x256 ATI VGA - 832x612x256 New HP Paintjet support from Chris Martin
New "FUNCTION=" command to allow substition of different transcendental functions for variables in types (allows one type with four of these variables to represent 7*7*7*7 different types!
ALL KINDS of new fractal types, some using "FUNCTION=": fn(z*z), fn*fn, fn*z+z, fn+fn, sqr(1/fn), sqr(fn), spider, tetrate, and Manowar. Most of these are generalizations of formula fractal types contributed by Scott Taylor and Lee Skinner.
Distance Estimator logic can now be applied to many fractal types using distest= option. The types "demm" and "demj" have been replaced by "type=mandel distest=nnn" and "type=julia distest=nnn"
Added extended memory support for diskvideo thanks to Paul Varner
Added support for "center and magnification" format for corners.
Color 0 is no longer generated except when specifically requested with inside= or outside=.
Formula name is now included in [Tab] display and in [S]aved images.
Bug fixes - formula type and diskvideo, batch file outside=-1 problem.
Now you can produce your favorite fractal terrains in full color instead of boring old monochrome! Use the fullcolor option in 3d! Along with a few new 3D options.
New "INITORBIT=" command to allow alternate Mandelbrot set orbit initialization.
F1 was made the help key.
Use F1 for help
Use F9 for EGA 320x200x16 video mode
Use CF4 for EGA 640x200x16 mode (if anybody uses that mode)
Super-Solid-guessing (three or more passes) from Pieter Branderhorst (replaces the old solid-guessing mode)
Boundary Tracing option from David Guenther ("fractint passes=btm", or use the new 'x' options screen)
"outside=nnn" option sets all points not "inside" the fractal to color "nnn" (and generates a two-color image).
'x' option from the main menu brings up a full-screen menu of many popular options and toggle switches
"Speed Key" feature for fractal type selection (either use the cursor keys for point-and-shoot, or just start typing the name of your favorite fractal type)
"Attractor" fractals (Henon, Rossler, Pickover, Gingerbread)
Diffusion fractal type by Adrian Mariano
"type=formula" formulas from Scott Taylor and Lee H. Skinner.
"sound=" options for attractor fractals. Sound=x plays speaker tones
"hertz=" option for adjusting the "sound=x/y/z" output.
Printer support for color printers (printer=color) from Kurt Sowa
Trident 4000 and Oak Technologies SuperVGA support from John Bridges
Improved 8514/A support (the zoom-box keeps up with the cursor keys now!)
Tandy 1000 640x200x16 mode from Brian Corbino (which does not, as yet, work with the F1(help) and TAB functions)
The Julibrot fractal type and the Starmap option now automatically verify that they have been selected with a 256-color palette, and search for, and use, the appropriate GLASSESn.MAP or ALTERN.MAP palette map when invoked. *You* were supposed to be doing that manually all along, but *you* probably never read the docs, huh?
Bug Fixes:
New SuperVGA Autodetecting and VESA Video modes (you tell us the resolution you want, and we'll figure out how to do it)
New Full-Screen Entry for most prompting
New Fractal formula interpreter ('type=formula') - roll your own fractals without using a "C" compiler!
New 'Julibrot' fractal type
Added floating point option to all remaining fractal types.
Real (funny glasses) 3D - Now with "real-time" lorenz3D!!
Non-Destructive [TAB] - Check out what your fractal parameters are without stopping the generation of a fractal image
New Cross-Hair mode for changing individual palette colors (VGA only)
Zooming beyond the limits of Integer algorithms (with automatic switchover to a floating-point algorithm when you zoom in "too far")
New 'inside=bof60', 'inside=bof61' ("Beauty of Fractals, Page nn") options
New starmap ('a' - for astrology? astronomy?) transformation option
Restrictions on the options available when using Expanded Memory "Disk/RAM" video mode have been removed
And a lot of other nice little clean-up features that we've already forgotten that we've added...
Added capability to create 3D projection images (just barely) for people with 2 or 4 color video boards.
More fractal types
mandelsinh/lambdasinh mandelcosh/lambdacosh
mansinzsqrd/julsinzsqrd mansinexp/julsinexp
manzzprw/julzzpwr manzpower/julzpower
lorenz (from Rob Beyer) lorenz3d
complexnewton complexbasin
dynamic popcorn
Most fractal types given an integer and a floating point algorithm. "Float=yes" option now determines whether integer or floating-point algorithms are used for most fractal types. "F" command toggles the use of floating-point algorithms, flagged in the [Tab] status display
8/16/32/../256-Way decomposition option (from Richard Finegold)
"Biomorph=", "bailout=", "symmetry=" and "askvideo=" options
"T(ransform)" option in the IFS editor lets you select 3D options (used with the Lorenz3D fractal type)
The "T(ype)" command uses a new "Point-and-Shoot" method of selecting fractal types rather than prompting you for a type name
Bug fixes to continuous-potential algorithm on integer fractals, GIF encoder, and IFS editor
Barnsley IFS type (Rob Beyer)
Barnsley IFS3D type
MandelSine/Cos/Exp type
MandelLambda/MarksLambda/Unity type
BarnsleyM1/J1/M2/J2/M3/J3 type
Mandel4/Julia4 type
Sierpinski gasket type
Demm/Demj and bifurcation types (Phil Wilson), "test" is "mandel" again
[I]nversion command for most fractal types
[Q]uaternary decomposition toggle and "DECOMP=" argument
[E]ditor for Barnsley IFS parameters
Command-line options for 3D parameters
Spherical 3D calculations 5x faster
3D now clips properly to screen edges and works at extreme perspective
"RSEED=" argument for reproducible plasma clouds
Faster plasma clouds (by 40% on a 386)
Sensitivity to "continuous potential" algorithm for all types except plasma and IFS
Palette-map [S]ave and Restore ([M]) commands
[L]ogarithmic and [N]ormal palette-mapping commands and arguments
Maxiter increased to 32,000 to support log palette maps
.MAP and .IFS files can now reside anywhere along the DOS path
Direct-video support for Hercules adapters (Dean Souleles)
Tandy 1000 160x200x16 mode (Tom Price)
320x400x256 register-compatible-VGA "tweaked" mode
ATI VGA Wonder 1024x768x16 direct-video mode (Mark Peterson)
1024x768x16 direct-video mode for all supported chipsets
Tseng 640x400x256 mode
"Roll-your-own" video mode 19
New video-table "hot-keys" eliminate need for enhanced keyboard to access later entries
[P]rint command and "PRINTER=" argument (Matt Saucier)
8514/A video modes (Kyle Powell)
SSTOOLS.INI sensitivity and '@THISFILE' argument
Continuous-potential algorithm for Mandelbrot/Julia sets
Light source 3D option for all fractal types
"Distance estimator" M/J method (Phil Wilson) implemented as "test" type
LambdaCosine and LambdaExponent types
Color cycling mode for 640x350x16 EGA adapters
Plasma clouds for 16-color and 4-color video modes
Improved TARGA support (Joe McLain)
CGA modes now use direct-video read/writes
Tandy 1000 320x200x16 and 640x200x4 modes (Tom Price)
TRIDENT chip-set super-VGA video modes (Lew Ramsey)
Direct-access video modes for TRIDENT, Chips & Technologies, and ATI VGA WONDER adapters (John Bridges). and, unlike version 9.1, they WORK in version 9.3!)
"zoom-out" ([Ctrl] [Enter]) command
[D]os command for shelling out
2/4/16-color Disk/RAM video mode capability and 2-color video modes supporting full-page printer graphics
"INSIDE=-1" option (treated dynamically as "INSIDE=maxiter")
Improved [H]elp and sound routines (even a "SOUND=off" argument)
Turbo-C and TASM compatibility (really! Would we lie to you?)
[3]D restore-from-disk and 3D [O]verlay commands, "3D=" argument
Fast Newton algorithm including inversion option (Lee Crocker)
16-bit Mandelbrot/Julia logic for 386-class speed with non-386 PCs on "large" images (Mark Peterson)
Restore now loads .GIF files (as plasma clouds)
TARGA video modes and color-map file options (Joe McLain)
30 new color-cycling palette options ([Shft][F1] to [Alt][F10])
"Disk-video, RAM-video, EMS-video" modes
Lambda sets now use integer math (with 80386 speedups)
"WARN=yes" argument to prevent over-writing old .GIF files
Restore from disk (from prior save-to-disk using v. 7.0 or later)
New types: Newton, Lambda, Mandelfp, Juliafp, Plasma, Lambdasine
Many new color-cycling options (for VGA adapters only)
New periodicity logic (Mark Peterson)
Initial displays recognize (and use) symmetry
Solid-guessing option (now the default)
Context-sensitive [H]elp
Customizable video mode configuration file (FRACTINT.CFG)
"Batch mode" option
Improved super-VGA support (with direct video read/writes)
Non-standard 360 x 480 x 256 color mode on a STANDARD IBM VGA!
More video modes
Save to disk
New! Improved! (and Incompatible!) optional arguments format
"Correct" initial image aspect ratio
More video modes
Mouse support (Mike Kaufman)
Dynamic iteration limits
Color cycling
Dual-pass mode
More video modes, including "tweaked" modes for IBM VGA and register- compatible adapters
Julia sets
Video table
CPU type detector
The original, blindingly fast, 386-specific 32-bit integer algorithm