---------------------------------------------------------------------------- FracXtra v6.0: Fractint Extras Collection by Dan Goldwater, 4/4/95 release. distributed as FRACXTR6.ZIP ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Description: FracXtra is a huge collection of .map, .par, .frm, .ifs, .l, .key, and .bat files, as well as some external programs for the best fractal generator ever made, Fractint, by the Stone Soup Group (no bias here!). The latest version of fractint (v19.x) is needed for some of the files in this collection. The files are by no means all made by me, although i did make some myself. The FracXtra collection is really just a collection of all the fractint files i have found on the internet and on bulletin boards, and which people have given to me. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Installation: There are two ways to install FracXtra. Method 1 is the simplest, but the least organized. It is best suited for casual Fractint users. Method 2 is a little more complicated, but will keep your files organized. It is best for frequent Fractint users. If you are upgrading from a previous FracXtra release, read the section on upgrading before you try to install. --> Method 1: 1) Fractint v19.x should already be installed. 2) Copy the fracxtr6.zip file to the directory where you keep Fractint. 3) Unzip the collection with "pkunzip fracxtr6.zip". This will unzip _all_ the files into the same directory as fractint.exe. This will give you easy access to all the files when you are using Fractint. 4) Try running DEMO.BAT (for 320x200 demo) or DEMO2.BAT (640x480 demo). --> Method 2: This method uses the following directory structure (in this example, fractint.exe is located in c:\fract): c:\fract where fractint.exe and other .exe's are kept c:\fract\bat for .bat and .cfg files which auto-run fractint. c:\fract\frm .frm formula files c:\fract\ifs .ifs fractal files c:\fract\key .key fractint auto-key demos c:\fract\l .l l-system files c:\fract\map .map color-maps for general 256 color use. c:\fract\map\2col 2 color (black and white) maps. c:\fract\map\16col 16 color (EGA) maps. c:\fract\map\chaotic maps with very random/chaotic coloring. c:\fract\map\ng N. Griffin's collection of map files. c:\fract\map\simple classic maps with at most 2 colors smoothly blended. c:\fract\map\special special purpose maps for 3D, 24bit, paintjet, etc. c:\fract\other external programs, text files, other stuff. c:\fract\par .par parameter files. c:\fract\work fractint work directory. 1) Fractint v19.x should already be installed. 2) Copy the fracxtr6.zip file to the directory where you keep Fractint. 3) Unzip the collection with "pkunzip -d fracxtr6.zip" This will create the directory structure shown above and unzip the files into the appropriate locations. 4) In order to have Fractint automatically look in the appropriate subdirectories for its files, you will have to add entries to your sstools.ini file (or create one if it doesn't exist already). Included in this collection is the file other\sstools2.ini, which is a sample sstools.ini with the appropriate settings included. You can rename this file to sstools.ini and put it in the same directory as fractint.exe, or you can just copy the specific settings for directory searching to your own sstools.ini. 5) You can make more subdirectories in the map subdirectory if you want to separate your map files even more, or to keep your own personal ones separate from the ones in the collection. In the current Fractint release, however, only one map directory can be searched automatically by Fractint, although you can use map files from the other directories manually. 6) There are many useful programs and utilities in the "other" directory for creating map files, fractal animations, auto-running .bat files, etc. These programs are not installed initially. Each one has a corresponding .txt file describing it. 7) Noel Griffin contributed so many .map files that I put them in a special directory. you may want to move them to the main .map directory. 8) Try running BAT\DEMO.BAT (for 320x200 demo) or BAT\DEMO2.BAT (640x480 demo). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Upgrading old fracxtra releases: upgrading from version 2 or version 1: everything in the previous releases of fracxtra is in this release, but some files have been renamed, some conglomerated to reduce the number of files, and some deleted if they duplicated other files. as a result, you can delete every file in the old version and then unzip this collection. the problem is that if you have made any fractint files of your own, you will have to avoid deleting them (heh heh). to help you do this, the following files existed in version 2 but have been deleted in this version: all .l files except fractint.l, penrose.l, tiling.l moreifs1.ifs black.map, white.map (what were these all white and all black maps for?!?) upgrading from version 3, 2, and 1: the \txt directory was eliminated. the .txt files are now in \other. erase the following files, which were either duplicates or were renamed: rain4x3.map, smooth2.map, smooth4.map. upgrading from version 4 or version 5: delete \other\partobat.* delete \other\explod.zip delete \par\0big.par delete \other\fractcfg.* To update your \map\ directory to the new format, you will need to delete all the map files included in the FracXtra release you are currently using. For convenience, I have included a .bat file which will delete all the .map files which came with FracXtra v5.0. First, unzip this .bat file alone with: "pkunzip fracxtr6.zip map5-del.bat". Copy map5-del.bat to the directory containing your map files, and then run it. When you are installing FracXtra v6.0 and you try to unzip fracxtr6.zip, pkunzip will of course warn you that you are trying to overwrite all the various files contained in the previous release. You can avoid this by typing "pkunzip -d -o fracxtr6.zip", which will overwrite all files without prompting, or by typing "pkunzip -d -n fracxtr6.zip", which will only unzip files which are newer than already existing files. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Using this collection with Fractint: .par files are fractal parameter files. press '@', then 'f6' to load a parameter file in fractint. .map files are fractal color maps. load them with 'l' when in color cycling mode (press 'c' to go to color cycling mode when an image is displayed). .frm files are fractal formula files. press 't', choose 'formula', then press 'f6' to load a formula file in fractint. .ifs files are IFS type fractal formula files. press 't', choose 'IFS', then press 'f6' to load an IFS formula file in fractint. .l files are L-system fractal formula files. press 't', choose 'L-system', then press 'f6' to load an L-system formula file in fractint. .bat files are for running fractint with command line options from dos to automatically generate a bunch of fractals without having to hit any keys. .key files are fractint macro keylists, for demos and such, used by .bat files. .cfg files are fractint configuration files, used by .bat files. .zip files are external programs. .txt files are text files which describe files in the collection and all the external programs. Note that all the extras files contained in the release version of Fractint v19.0 are included in fracxtra. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Notes: many of the .txt files in \other correspond to a .par and/or .frm file, and describe how to use it or who wrote it or something like that. fractint.frm and improved.frm have many of the same formulas in them, but they have been organized so that fractint.frm is a subset of improved.frm. the formulas in fractint.frm have many of the variables preset, such that they require less parameters than the corresponding (and similarly named) formulas in improved.frm. many of the improved.frm formulas in turn have a comment which gives example values to try in a formula, and these are often the values used to preset that formula in fractint.frm. note that the fractint.frm included in the collection is different from the one included in Fractint v18. you may want to rename improved.frm to fractint.frm, and fractint.frm to oldfract.frm, because many of the .par files expect certain formulas to be in fractint.frm which are now only in improved.frm. some of the .par and .bat files are directory dependant, and may not be able to find the .frm, .map, or .par files they need to work properly. in general, most can be made to work if you edit the files in question. the following files were made by me: about 150 of the .map files, including almost all the various rainbow and volcano and fade ones. i made the dgeneral.par and the dcontpot.par files, both are (c)opyright, but you can use them for any non-profit purpose you wish, as long as you don't claim you made them. i also wrote part of the 24bit.txt info file on making 24bit fractals, and the frachead.ray rayshade header file. also many of the .txt and .bat files describing various stuff (in \other). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Version history: version 1: - the initial release. totally undocumented and disorganized and incomplete. everyone kept bugging me and bugging me to re-upload it everywhere . version 2: - got a whole bunch of new .par, .frm, .l, and .bat files, and a few .map's - made this readme file, and the file_id.diz. - discovered that none of the .ifs files were in the correct format. i fixed them, and consolidated all the new ones into one file, moreifs.ifs. - consolidated a few of the .par files that had only a few .par's in them into the misc.par file. - eliminated duplication in a few of the .par files (like wohlers.par and all of the .par files i made myself), and i consolidated my own .par's. version 3: - got a few new .map and .par files - nuked a ton of .l and .ifs files because they were dups - changed the zip-exe dir to an other dir, and put in some new stuff. - removed duplication from the remaining .l files. - removed duplication between fractint.frm and improved.frm, and reorganized those files (see notes). - fixed one of the formulas in improved.frm which had a syntax error (jm_23). - made a .txt file about making 24bit fractals - used pkzip v2.04e to compress - made a .ray file header for rayshade output files - misc. editing of files version 4: - made fade*.map - deleted rain4x3.map, renamed smooth2.map and smooth4.map - got select.frm file, and burt.par file - got a .map file making program, map100.zip. - moved the /txt stuff into /other - used the old pkzip v1.10 to compress, for compatibility - misc. editing of files - made/added .txt and .bat files on animating fractals. - got about 20 new .map, a .par, and a .ifs file - got fbat102.zip, a par-to-bat converter - got a .cfg file and .ini additions and other misc. files in /other version 5: - got aaa111.par and cw4par.par - i got some other stuff, but i dont remember what anymore! - some new maps, but i dont remember their names. - lots of new .frm files from Mike Wareman. see \other\f(g(z))).txt for info. - also got secant.frm from Mike Wareman, and made mikeware.par from his .gifs. version 6: - rewrote this file completely. - added subdirectories in the \map\ tree for special purpose and other easily classified .map files. - removed 0big.par. - removed a few other junk files, but I don't remember which they were. - extracted explod.gif from explod.zip, and deleted explod.zip - deleted fractcfg.*. - got a bunch of stuff from Tom Schumm: - see phong.txt - julmorph.zip, which makes .bat files for creating animations - phong.frm, phong2.frm - phong.ifs - julimand.par, julphong.par, minimand.par, spirals.par - r[1..8].map, g[1..8].map, b[1..8].map map files for 24bit fractals - 19 other map files, including jewels*.map - got a bunch of stuff from Florian Sanwald - see flofract.txt - crazynwt.par, crazynwt.frm - ilvi.par, ilvi.frm - smuus.par, smuus.frm - adults.par, slope.par - .frm's: fkt, fn-ratz, fractmix, queratz, ratz, test, tritz. - 11 .map files - got fa100.zip fractal animator from Brian Towles - got ifsspell.zip .ifs file generator with source from Wesley Loewer - got noel.frm, noel.par, and 117 .map files from Noel Giffin - got bailout.frm, bailout.par, bailout.bat from J. Marques - got frizzi1.par from Manlio Frizzi - got pderby1.par from Paul Derbyshire - got robklep1.frm from Rob Klep - got behrens1.frm from Chris Behrens - got dduffy1.par from Dave Duffy - got amber.*, cell.*, wow.*; see jbao.txt for info. from Jiaqing Bao - got daj1.par from David Johnston - got slang.par from Sara Langseth - got smock.par from Laura Smock - got 5 .l files by various authors - got makemap.zip v1.1, by R. Barnett. a .map maker program for windows. - got overkill.frm, overkill.par, overkill.doc by Bradley Beacham. - got dons.frm, dons.par by Don Lebow - got 5 ckp*.par files by Caren Park - got bob10.par by BG Dodson - got timgho.par by Karl Geigl - got wood.par by Lee Skinner - got partob31.zip, a new version (3.1) of partobat, by Michael Peters - got fungus.par, by unknown - got fractbar.zip 1.00, a toolbar for winfract. by Sean Bishop. - got 4dfrac.frm, .par, and .doc. v2.03. by Gordon Lamb. - got fimaps.zip by Nick Grasso. a .map maker program. - and of course, i got a few things that i forgot what they are, who made them, and where they came from :) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Where to get FracXtra, Fractint, and all that other Good Stuff: FracXtra can be obtained from finer bulletin boards, on many Internet FTP sites, and most likely from Compu$erve as well, though I personally do not put it on ci$. I can not email or real-mail you the software. Sorry. It may take up to a week after each release for fracxtra to get onto all the distribution sites... the following are the distribution sites which each new version of fracxtra is uploaded/ftp'd to by me: Bulletin Boards: The Graphics Alternative BBS, 510-524-2780 (highly recommended!) Channel 1 BBS, 617-354-7077 617-354-3137 617-354-5776 617-354-8873 Internet FTP sites: All new releases of FracXtra are found on the following sites: Simtel20 mirror sites: ftp.cdrom.com in /pub/simtel/msdos/graphics oak.oakland.edu in /pub/msdos/graphics wsmr-simtel20.army.mil in pd1 nic.funet.fi and many others... wuarchive.wustl.edu in /pub/MSDOS_UPLOADS/graphics/ or /pub/MSDOS_UPLOADS/misc/ or /pub/MSDOS_UPLOADS/ or similar. ftp.cica.indiana.edu in /pub/pc/win3/uploads/ or /pub/pc/win3/desktop/ and ftp.cdrom.com in /pub/cica/? sprite.berkeley.edu in /pub/ (this is the XFractint source. XFractint includes the full FracXtra with it. look for the file xfract18.tar.Z or similar. the FracXtra release may be here as a separate file as well). where to get Fractint: Fractint v19.x/v18.x is available in versions for dos, windows, and X. you can get Fractint on any of the above BBS systems and internet FTP sites. on ftp.cdrom.com, look in /pub/simtel/msdos/graphics/ as fraint19.zip. the source code (for dos and X) is frasrc19.zip. The windows version is on ftp.cdrom.com in /pub/cica. get the file listing in that directory to locate it. New versions of the software will presumably have similar names when they are released. Where to get other nifty programs: All the sites mentioned above have plenty of good graphics software. You can get the POV-Ray raytracer by FTP from alfred.ccs.carleton.ca in /pub/pov-ray. It is also on some of the sites listed above. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Internet newsgroups: Read the newsgroup sci.fractals for all your fractal needs. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bugs: If there are any major problems with FracXtra, please email me to let me know. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Getting your own Fractint extras in the FracXtra collection: If you have any good Fractint extras you would like to have included in this collection, you can: 1) put them on a disk and mail them to me (put the disk in a padded envelope). 2) email to sl@cs.brown.edu. use a uuencoded .zip file for large stuff. Method 1 is preferred, since #2 is through a friend. My address is at the end of this file. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- #IFDEF LEGAL_CRAP I make no claim to ownership of most of the files or programs contained here, and some of them may be shareware, although most are freeware or public domain. Many of the files are copyrighted in the specific files by whoever made them. Due to the methods and time period over which this collection was/is gathered, it would be impossible to list all the contributors whose names are not specifically in a file contained herein. Also, i frequently insert a (c)opyright, 199x message into some of the files i get when the author has not been so thoughtful. i am not trying to make any money from this. if any author of something in this collection doesn't like what i am doing, just mail me and i'll correct the situation. I can not be held responsible for the actions or content of any of the files - this collection is distributed as-is. CD-ROM vendors: You have permission to include the FracXtra collection in your products. I would appreciate one free copy of your CD-ROM product. My address is at the bottom of this file. #ENDIF LEGAL_CRAP ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------- --Dan Goldwater-- ----------------- indirect email address: sl@cs.brown.edu Since i'm a student, feel free to send money if that's your desire. Suggested donation is $10 and/or your personal best fractint extras. Send all software or monetary contributions to: Dan Goldwater 9 Forest Edge Rd Amherst, MA 01002-1533 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------