THE DEMO MAKER (Version 91-07-07)

by Dan Panke

Written in GFA Basic 3.5


NOTE: The Demo Maker runs in low resolution and requires 1 MEG of 
memory.


The Demo Maker is an easy to use program designed with creating demos
in mind. In fact, the Demo Maker program is somewhat of a compiler,
taking commands from an ASCII text file, interpreting the commands and
executing them.

All commands may be entered in upper or lower case. Quotes, spaces and
equal signs (=) are optional as the Demo Makers strips them during
compilation. Undecipherable commands are ignored.

The Demo Maker consists of 12 commands described as follows:

DO
	Marks the location in your demo for a LOOP.

FILE=text
	Tells the Demo Maker to be ready to load this file. This file can 
	be a low resolution picture, Xbios 32 sound, or ST Replay sample.
		EXAMPLE:	FILE="picture.pc1"
					file a:picture.pi1
					File = a:\pics\picture.pp1
	NOTE: The Demo Maker automatically defaults to the directory 
	where the loaded demo ASCII text file was loaded from.

KHZ=variable
	Sets the KHz rate for the ST Replay sample. The sample player in 
	the Demo Maker can only play samples of 3 to 16 KHz. The Demo 
	Maker has an original default value of 5 KHz.

LOAD PICTURE 1 ... LOAD PICTURE 8
	Loads the file set by the 'FILE=' command. The defined picture 
	file must have the extender '.PI1' (Degas Uncompressed), '.PC1' 
	(Degas compressed), or '.PP1' (Pixel Perfect format). The 1 - 8 
	defines which screen you want the picture loaded into. The Demo 
	Maker has 8 working screens.

LOAD SOUND 1 or LOAD SOUND 2
	Loads the Xbios 32 sound or ST Replay sample set by the 'FILE=' 
	command into the 1st or 2nd memory area. The maximum sound or
	sample size is 200000 bytes.

LOOP
    Informs the Demo Maker to execute the command after DO.

NOPLAY
	Turns off any XBIOS 32 music or ST Replay sample currently being 
	played.

PICTURE 1 ... PICTURE 8
	Displays the picture located in the chosen memory area.

PAUSE=variable
	Delays further execution for 'variable/50' seconds.
		EXAMPLE:	PAUSE=50   (Delays the Demo Maker for 1 second.)

REPEAT
    Restarts the loaded demo ASCII text file over again.

REPLAY 1 or REPLAY 2
	Plays the ST Replay sample in the chosen memory area. The sample 
	player is interrupt driven so files can be loaded, pictures 
	displayed, etc. while the sample is being played.

XBIOS 1 or XBIOS 2
    Plays the Xbios 32 routine in the chosen memory area.


ABREVIATIONS:
	DO                   -  DO
	FILE=text            -  FILEtext
	KHZ=variable         -  KHZvariable
	LOAD PICTURE 1 ...8  -  LOADP1 ...8
	LOAD SOUND 1 ...2    -  LOADS1 ...2
	LOOP                 -  L
	NOPLAY               -  NO
	PAUSE=variable       -  PAvariable
	PICTURE 1 ...8       -  P1 ...8
	REPEAT               -  REPEAT
	REPLAY 1 ...2        -  R1 ...2
	XBIOS 1 ...2         -  X1 ...2


SPECIAL NOTES:

	1) When Demo Maker is loaded, the program looks for a ASCII text 
	file called 'DEFAULT.DEM' located in the same directory as the 
	Demo Maker program. If found, the 'DEFAULT.DEM' file is loaded 
	and executed.

	2) To STOP execution of the Demo Maker program, press the <ESC> 
	key.

	3) The Demo Maker title screen and fileselector always appear on 
	screen 1. It is best to start your demo by loading a picture in 
	any other screen besides 1. It doesn't matter which area you load 
	your sounds into.

	4) You don't need to execute 'NOPLAY' before executing an 'XBIOS' 
	or 'REPLAY' as both these commands call 'NOPLAY' before their 
	execution. I do however recommend that you do NOT load a file
	overtop an already playing file.

	5) An excellent program for creating Xbios 32 music is the PD 
	program 'XBIOS MUSIC CONSTRUCTION KIT' by D.A. O'Connell.


Should any user of this program have any suggestions for enhancements 
or encounter any errors, please drop me a letter.

		Dan Panke
		3559 Trappers Road,
		Gloucester, Ontario
		Canada  K1T 2R1

		GEnie: D.Panke     CompuServe: 73257,2635