Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!yale!mintaka!snorkelwacker!spdcc!merk!alliant!linus!linus!mwunix.mitre.org!twegner From: twegner@mwunix.mitre.org (Timothy Wegner) Newsgroups: comp.graphics Subject: Fractint v. 14 Keywords: FRACTINT 14 FRACTALS PC Message-ID: Date: 3 Aug 90 13:57:07 GMT Sender: usenet@linus.mitre.org Distribution: comp Lines: 93 Release 14 of FRACTINT, the IBMPC fractal-generating program, has been uploaded to Compuserve in the COMART forum, lib 2. Files don't become visible immediately, and I may not be able to get the official version to upload to the net until I get back from SIGGRAPH. So if anybody has both Compuserve and Internet access, I would appreciate their downloading it and distributing around the net. I could also use suggestions of FTP sites to put it that are accesible for uploading via anonymous FTP. I always sent it to wsmr-simtel20.army.mil, but that is not accessible to everyone and is *VERY* busy. The following is from the "new features" section of the docs: NEW FEATURES IN VERSION 14.0 LAST MINUTE NEWS FLASH! 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 display. Kevin Allen, of Antipodean origin, did the following: Made Bifurcation/Verhulst into a generalised 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 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 display and in 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.