Latest Version (2017-9-30):
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4-OcX4x1ANwSjNoQTRCOUIyOUENew Examples:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4-OcX4x1ANwT2t5WGFUY0VVQWcPost about this version:
http://www.fractalforums.com/index.php?topic=26268.msg103684#msg103684-----------
Previous Version:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4-OcX4x1ANwd0xZdVFQSndyWlUI've been waffling on releasing this for some time now because to be frank, it's not ready for public consumption. Because I've been focusing more on the back-end more than the front-end, it's very user-unfriendly at the moment. That said, it does work, and if you know what you're doing there's all sorts of cool stuff you can make. Maybe putting it out here will finally get me to work on making the GUI nice and neat.
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Requirements:
1. Java SE (It's free)
2. A little over 1GB of free ram. (This is something I'm hoping to fix in the future.)
3. A C: drive.
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Examples:
Large Renders:
https://goo.gl/WfRZiqAnimation*:
https://giphy.com/channel/alexander_harris Zip file of examples and their settings:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4-OcX4x1ANwT2t5WGFUY0VVQWc*A few of the animation types in there are accessible only in the code and not through the GUI at the moment.
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Instructions For Running On Windows:
I didn't understand threading before starting this project, so when you generate anything the GUI will stop responding. In order to get progress readouts from the program you need to run the program through the Command Prompt. You CAN just run the program after installing Java SE, but without the other steps you won't have any way of knowing how fast (or slow) the program is generating the fractals. Also, my program doesn't have any built-in data-validation yet, so the only way you can tell if you typed something you shouldn't have is through the Command Prompt at the moment.
1. Download and install Java SE.
2. Create a new folder and put the .jar file in it.
3. Open the Command Prompt.
-To open it quickly, press the "Windows" key and the "R" key at the same time, then type "cmd" in the dialogue box that comes up and hit enter.
4. In the Command Prompt, type "cd" followed by a space.
5. Drag and drop the folder you created into the Command Prompt. Hit enter.
6. In the Command Prompt, type "java -jar", followed by a space.
7. Drag and drop the .jar file into the Command Prompt. Hit Enter.
If everything is done correctly, the program should run and you'll get progress readouts in the Command Prompt.
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Guide (Incomplete):
Because the program is so user-unfriendly at the moment, I'd like to do a video over the next few days showcasing how to (and how not to) use it. For now, just know that the Function Index and Test Index are probably two of the most important things you can play with. In the zip file I included a few text documents that show what each of the indexes are.
Here are some other basic tips:
- Running the program will create "C: -> Fractals" and some sub-folders, which is where all of the images and animations you create/save will go.
- I've included a link to a 400mb zip file with example images and their settings. Historically the code that created the settings file had some major bugs and omissions in them, so some of the settings files (especially the older they are) may not be accurate. If there's fractal you want to recreate but the settings file is wrong, give me the name of the file and I'll almost certainly be able to sleuth out what the correct settings are for you.
- You can only use the "Recolor" function if you set the generator to "slow" (upper right button on the Main Tab).
- Changing the quality exponentially increases render time. 3 is generally as high as you'll need to go, but you can still see improvements sometimes if you go higher.
- When using the "Slow" render method, data will be cached on the C: Drive. Higher quality programs require exponentially more disk space. I don't recommend going higher than quality level 10 with the "Slow" method for this reason.
- Set Quality less than or equal to 0 to make Buddhabrots.
- Quality 0 Buddhabrots use random points to make the images. The number of random points used can be changed in the "Other" Tab in the text box labeled "Number of Points".
- The Custom Width and Custom Height settings on the "Other" Tab govern the output size of the "Custom" buttons on the Main Tab and Mu Analysis Tab, as well as all of the animation sizes. Both "Orb" Animations will double the custom width.
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Controls:
R: Recolor fractal based on current settings (only works if you're using the slow render method)
P: Saves the current fractal and settings to "C: -> Fractals -> Images -> Screenshots."
O: Saves the current Mu Analysis and settings to "C: -> Fractals -> Images -> Screenshots."
. (Period): Zoom in to the point your cursor is hovering over.
, (Comma): Zoom out from the point your cursor is hovering over.
(For both (Period) and (Comma), if your cursor is not hovering over the image the zoom will be centered at whatever the "Center" is currently set to.)
/ (Forward Slash): Reset zoom to "Window = 4.0".
Z: Set Center to (0.0, 0.0).
X: Copy the Center's value to the Constant value and then set Center to (0.0, 0.0).
(You must either recolor image or generate a new one for the following to take effect)
C: Toggle between Custom and Default color schemes. When set to Custom the Gradient Level will be set to 1, but you can change it.
B: Toggle between Black and White backgrounds.
V: Set Function index to -1. This is the "Custom Function List" setting.
Q: Set the animation's left or right bounds, based on the current Constant value. This will also serve as the starting point of the animation.
W: Set the animation's top or bottom bounds, based on the current Constant value.
A: Set the starting Window for a Zoom animation, based on the current Window value.
S: Set the ending Window for a Zoom animation.
L: Copy the Window bounds from the Main Tab to the Mu Analysis Tab. This is useful if you want to make a collage in the Mu Analysis tab based on an image in the Main Tab.
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Notes:
- At the moment, anything that uses multithreading will attempt to eat your entire CPU. I'll add an option to limit this in the next version.
- Speaking of multithreading, not everything in the program is capable of it at the moment. Multithreading is the newest feature in the program so it hasn't been fully implemented yet. Four items use it at the moment, and only when Quality > 0:
1. (Main Tab) "Generate" (Only if "Fast" is on)
2. (Main Tab) "Custom"
3. (Animation Tab) "GIF"
4. (Animation Tab) "Zoom"
- There are a number of special functions I made that have weird names. What the heck is an "ArbitraryPow"? What's the difference between ln(), ln2(), and flippedln()? I'm not going to make a guide for them now, but if you have questions about them I'll answer.
- The ".pow(int, int)" functions used to occasionally soft-lock the program, but I think I fixed that a while back. I only mention it here in case the problem still persists.
- In the "Custom Function List", certain functions are not compatible. Check the "Custom Function Compatibility List". Everything from index 456 onward is compatible though.
- "DE: 0" Doesn't do anything yet.
- Both Orb animation types will always render stereoscopic 3D images at the moment.
- In the Animation Tab, the lighting engine feature for the orbs is objectively not great. XD
- cMod2 (Color Mod 2) modifies the colors the image based on some statistics that are only generated if you have the generator set to "slow". If you use Color Mod 2 with the generator set to "fast", the program will use the statistics from the last fractal that was generated with the program set to "slow".
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Again, this documentation isn't complete. There are all sorts of bugs to watch out for, and a number of features I have either barely covered or didn't touch on at all. I think a video tutorial will be much more helpful for a program as unfinished as this. I will try to have one ready over the next few days.