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AMIGA FXPAINT
Press Release
Ed: I thought I would include this information, not because you can obtain the product yet, but because it shows that work on the Amiga is happening.
WHAT IS FXPAINT?
fxPAINT is new, revolutionary image processing software for the AMIGA that will make use of the latest hardware and software existing for the AMIGA. It's planned to release a first, full release on CD within this year (1999).
MAIN FEATURES
fxPAINT is strongly extended image processing software for the AMIGA. It contains the usual painting tools, but also offers a lot more. E.g. it's possible to mark whole areas by a simple mouse click. Gradients can be added by a simple dragging, too. fxPAINT allows you the usage of several natural pens like chalk, pencil, the so called "Artist Pen", or simply pens that were cut from a previous picture.. As you might already have thought, when reading fxPAINT`s name, fxPAINT is not limited to painting with colours or pens. It offers you a great palette of high-quality effects. This includes, but isn't limited to:
- Standard effects like changing of brightness, contrast or gamma.
- Special effects like light-sources or bump mapped surfaces, glow and shadow effects, waves, explosive supernovas, distortions, etc.
You'll also find professional tools like Gradation-curves or matrix operations. This opens up a great number of possibilities to create and design pictures. Another special feature is fxPAINT`s real time mode, that shows changes to the effect settings immediately after they were made. E.g. Light sources can be dragged over the pictures - in real time and full quality!! fxPAINT basically is similar to a layer-based image processing package, but it isn't directly equal to it. You can paint with effects while the Alpha-Channel (that can have full 24bit depth) is fully used, if active. Painting mistakes can be fixed easily by the undo and redo function. Of course fxPAINT is not only very useable for changing and manipulating images but also for creating them. E.g. fractals, screenshots, videodigitizes, etc. can be made directly from within fxPAINT by some simple clicks.
EXTERNAL DEVICES AND MODULES
The support of scanners and video digitisers and an open, documented Plugin-API will make you feel that other programs aren't needed any more. To guarantee brilliant prints, optimised routines for the printer device and Turbo Print are available within fxPAINT. fxPAINT keeps the internal multitasking. You can work even while scanning!
INTERNAL MODULES
Maybe you are one of those, (like me, too), that do not make great efforts to sort the graphics on your hard disk in order to easily administer them. That's why you might like the in-built picture database called fxALBUM. Editing a picture is very easy then, as you only have to click on the image and on another button in order to have the picture loaded in fxPAINT. If you want to, you can print overviews over your pictures as well. For fast conversions between file formats the module fxCONV is available. It allows automated conversion of several directories and/or files into another format easily. If you want to create graphics for the World Wide Web and want to make use of so called HTML Imagemaps, fxIMAGEMAP might be your tool. This allows easy creation of Imagemaps within minutes!
THE GUI-SYTEM
fxPAINT has internal BOOPSI classes of its own, that ideally adapt to the hardware used. No matter what hardware is used the fxPAINT GUI is full of images. This makes fxPAINT more useable and effective. Of course, a bubble help system is available describing the most important buttons, so you needn't guess, what this or that button might be for. On truecolor screens fxPAINT`s GUI is most impressive, because it then uses 24bit gradients that give it an even more modern and unique look. fxPAINT offers you the ability to adapt to your existing knowledge by offering three modes for novices, average users and experts.
FEATURES
Planned (and the major part of the list is already realised) features are:-
- Support of existing hardware
· Scanner (using RBM`s ScanQuix)
· VLab (by MacroSystem) and maybe also other video-digitisers- Creation of new pictures and textures as basic function
· Fractals
· Fire
· Screengrabber- Full PPC-Support
· PPC-Support was an important issue from the beginning of the development
· Support of WarpUP and PowerUP (ppc.lib)
· Open PPC support allows support for theoretically every (maybe new) PPC-Driver-System- Optimised printing routines
· Support for TurboPrint
· Support for printer device
· Support for the new API in Amiga OS 3.5- 24 Bit-Alpha-Channel
· Easy usage and choosing
· Full control over transparency effects
· aimed changing of red, green and blue components of an image- Open and publicly documented Plugin API fxPLUGIN for
· Loader Modules
· Saver Modules
· Effect Modules
· Modules for additional functionality- Tons of effects and special effects (ONLY A PART OF THEM IS LISTED HERE!)
· Effects are being calculated and displayed in real time
· Effects are sorted by categories (find wanted effect fast)
· Mosaic (a picture is replaced by smaller ones)
· Bumpmapper with many options (for effects known as 'Candy Factory')
· Light effects (lens flares, explosions, supernovas)
· Distortions (pagecurl, lightspeed, earthquake, waves)
· Rub through of pictures
· Drawing on surfaces and textures
· Glow- and shadow-effects
· Great number of functions for retouch of picture
· Great number of functions for optimising scanned pictures
· Oil-painting, button-border (for 3D-buttons)
· Matrix operations (convolution, emboss)
· gradations curves for optimal colour correction results
· MinMax - convert pictures of bad quality to pictures that are a pleasure to look at!
· Posterize, replace colour (gradual, too), RGB-shifts
· colourize, explosion effect
· collage effect with mask and glow and shadow effects
· Interlace and de-interlace for working with videos
· Invert and logic functions
· Mirroring, pixelise, straw, spread, noise, remove isolated pixels
· Blur, Median, Zooming blur
· Selective gaussian-blur (for professional rework of digitised pictures)
· Anti "red eyes", antique, black & white
· contrast, brightness, gamma, re, green, blue correction
· 14 different dithering and colour reduction methods
· ..- Extended painting tools
· Magic Stick (Pantograph)-function
· Gradients as basic tool
· Smear and Blur Tool
· usual basic tools- integrated picture management with fxALBUM
· Fast categorisation of pictures on your hard disk
· directly linked with fxPAINT and therefore has optimal abilities for image manipulation
· Printing of overviews
· Organisation as catalogues- integrated mini-converter fxCONV
· conversion of several directories full of pictures with some clicks
· conversion from any to any format supported by fxPAINT- Completely new library of loader and saver modules
· highly optimised
· read/write formats like ILBM, PCX, BMP, TARGA, JPEG, YUVN, PCD, LJPG, PNM, RGB8, ...- PhotoCD compatible
· Browse, view and catalogue your PhotoCDs using fxALBUM.
· highly optimised, fast loader- own GUI System
· Realisation as BOOPSI Objects
· 24Bit GUI elements and gradients
· GUI contains many pictures
· Bubble Help for easy usage
· three user-settable knowledge-degrees
· automatic fixing of window positions
· no hacks, patches, etc.- Arexx support
· connect fxPAINT with all your favourite programs!SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
· Minimal
+ Amiga OS 3.x
+ CPU: 68020
+ RAM: 6 MB
+ 10 MB hard disk· Recommended
+ Amiga OS 3.x
+ CPU: 68040/060
+ RAM: 16 MB
+ 10 MB hard disk or more· Perfect
+ Amiga OS 3.x
+ CPU: 68040/060 and PPC or even PPC-only
+ RAM: 32 MB or more
+ 20 MB hard disk or morePRICE AND DISTRIBUTION
· Price: 70 EURO/$93 (Ed: What a high valuation of the Euro this German company has!)
· Innovative will deliver within Germany.
· Partners for international distribution are being looked for!(send your application to:
sales@innovative-web.de)
· Preorders possible (SAVE MONEY!)PREORDERS
Ordering now saves you a lot of money and gives you a lot of advantages:
- Preorder-price: 66 USD/50 EURO (YOU SAVE 27 USD/20 EURO!!)
- including one free update via Internet
- You'll be one of the first people to enjoy full PPC-power while painting
- You motivate us to put even more functions into the final first release.FURTHER INFORMATION AND SCREENSHOTS
These can be found on our web site at http://www.innovative-web.de/
-- Innovative c/o Felix Schwarz, Am Gründla 3, D-91074 Herzogenaurach. Germany
Email: info@innovative-web.de
WWW: http://www.innovative-web.de/
Phone: +(0)049 (0)9132/3400
