- DarkView version 3 11 - - (c) Dark 1994-95 - - Coded by Mist of Death Sudden Impact & Epitaph - - VGA Interface by Metal Skin - - ANSi INI Interface by Ravage Bias - - Dark ANSi font by Xypher Matryx - - Dark VGA font by Lord Azzur - - Documentation by Mist of Death - Here is yet another version of DarkView I heard a lot of complaints about the new VESA routines for DarkView 3 1 which was released in Feb 1995 I am currently working on solving the problem Thanks for all the feedback There have been a couple of minor changes in DarkView I increased the speed of the ANSI routines by a factor of 125% Not bad eh! A brief overview of the changes is provided below Switch Modes while viewing ANSi forward backward using Right Left Arrow keys Increased speed of ANSI routines Increased speed of VGA 320x200x256 ANSI viewing routines PGUP PGDN bugs in the text interface have been fixed Some VESA routines have been reconstructed Some other minor bugs If the VESA routines do not work on your video card then try UNIVESA EXE It might fix the problem Until next time (be young have fun join dark) DarkView 3 11 *REQUIREMENTS* 386SX or higher HIGHLY recommended 500K+ of conventional memory recommended VGA Card very HIGHLY recommended (SVGA card required for Hi-res VGA s etc ) Approximately 170K of Hard Drive Space DARKVIEW EXE REQUIRED ) DarkView 3 11 Features First Viewer with a VGA interface Text Interface support Complete ANSI support no ANSI driver required ANSI Scrollback Supporting 3000+ line ANSI s File listing menu with supporting 3000+ files in one directory VGA 320x200 640x400 640x480 800x600 1024x768 256c ANSI viewing mode VGA 320x200 640x400 640x480 800x600 1024x768 256c ANSI Slide Show w automatic Scrollback Complete ANSIMation support in text & VGA modes Auto GIF PCX detection routines Complete GIF support all modes Complete PCX support all modes Complete BIN support in Text AND VGA 320x200x256 modes Complete iCEColor support GreyScale support Complete SAUCE support INI configuration Ansimation for VGA and text mode Complete RIP support (no not by Cap n Crunch ) File Mask s etc Compact size (smaller than ACiDView) Command line support Multitasking aware Memory Allocation Supporting all Dark member names Future Plans for DarkView More Memory available XMS EMS memory usage Complete BIOS detection routines and much more - VGA Text Interface - Well as far as I know this is the first Viewer with a VGA interface I thought of the idea and decided to work on it and as time passed I got comfortable with it So here is something new which other viewers do not have I plan to make the Interface faster in the next version The interface can support 3000+ files depending on memory The VGA interface is the default interface but since some people might not have a VGA monitor I have also included a text interface The text interface can be accessed through DOS command line Remember when the viewer is in the text interface more memory is available for the user displaying HUGE ANSI s The Interfaces can also be switched by pressing TAB - ANSI Routines - The ANSI routines are the same as always I am not sure about the limit of other viewers but DarkView can support 3000+ lines per ANSI depending on your memory I plan to add XMS routines in the next version thus increasing the limit Anyhow the ANSI viewer is a bit different than others ie you can view an 8000 or 10000 or bigger line ansi without any memory problems The only thing is when you are using the scrollback option the ANSI size is limited depending on your memory (normally 2000-3000 lines and larger) ANSIMation is supported BUT remember the whole Animation sequence will NOT be shown if Scrollback is ON it will only show the final screen If you want to see the whole Animation sequence turn the Scrollback toggle OFF When viewing an ansi the modes can be changed by pressing M This option is only available when Scrollback is ON - VGA ANSI - There are 2 different types of VGA ANSI viewing You can view it the normal way or you can view it in a slideshow with smooth scrolling SlideShow is activated using the Scrollback toggle switch Again Please remember the slideshow option has automatic scrollback thus limiting the ansi size to 2000-3000 lines depending on memory So if you wish to view the whole ANSI turn Scrollback OFF ANSIMation is supported in VGA also ANSIMation will only work when Scrollback is OFF If Scrollback is ON Only the final screen will be shown The modes available are 320x200x256 640x400x256 640x480x256 800x600x256 and 1024x768x256 When viewing an ansi the modes can be changed by pressing M This option is onlyavailable when Scrollback is ON - BIN - Complete BIN support is included in DarkView with Bouncing effects This took a lot of Debugging and was a pain in the ass but our coding head finally came through BIN support is provided for Text 80x25 and VGA 320x200x256 - INI - Now all the users do not have to go through changing all the options again & again DarkView is automatic configuration support If the viewer does not find the INI file where the viewer EXE is located then the user can configure DarkView Type in DARKVIEW -C for the configuration or just edit the INI file through a text editor and watch it go Thanks goes to Epitaph for his *LONG* but effective INI code - GIF & PCX - One of the only few viewers with comeplete GIF and PCX support for all modes This is unique since it can display a GIF PCX file of any size unlike some other viewers - Grey Scale - DarkView supports Grey Scale viewing which can be toggled ON or OFF GreyScale can also be toggled while viewing an ansi when Scrollback is ON by pressing G - iCEColor (tm) iCE - Well the viewer has complete iCEColor support which can be toggled ON or OFF - SAUCE - Complete SAUCE support is included Thanks to ACIDVIEW DOC - RIP - No the RIP routines are not by Cap n Crunch They are 100% original by me They are relatively fast compared to Cap n Crunch s Units But I give credit where it is due Cap n Crunch s units ARE faster than mine All fonts etc are included in the viewer exe file itself So if people complain and they wish to have them seperately I will put them seperately - FILE MASKS - The file mask included in the viewer to make it more convinient is DRK which includes * DRK * GIF * PCX * RIP * NFO The default file mask is * * The file mask can be changed by pressing F3 Upto 3 different filemasks can be entered - MISC - DarkView is multitasking aware It detect the computer s CPU and video card for auto switching to VGA mode Command line support is also available in DarkView To get help on command line(s) enter or h DarkView options filemask or h help I interface option V for VGA interface default T for text interface C Configure DarkView filemask max of 3 filemasks allowed DRK is default filemask example DarkView -IT * * will run darkview in the text interface with the filemask * * NOTE DarkView is approximately 170K in size It has already been PKLited to its MAX DO NOT use any EXE compression programs with it It contains overlay files etc Why is DarkView so big - cuz It has 2 wicked VGA pictures included in it with a text interface and since all the RIP fonts are linked to the EXE file unlike other viewers AND since it has Music support If I removed all this the viewer would have been around 95K only - Version 3 11 Commands - F1 Quick Help F3 Change File Mask F4 Credits M Change Viewing Mode S Toggle Scrollback C Toggle iCEColor G Toggle GreyScale TAB Switch Interfaces ESC Exit DarkView Commands while Viewing ANSi (Scrollbak is ON) M Left Arrow Key Right ArrowKey Change Viewing Mode G Toggle GreyScale - Full Coding Credits - DarkView ANSI GIF PCX INTERFACE VGA Routines by Mist of Death VESA Routines and BIN Viewer Sudden Impact INI configuration by Epitaph I like the following people (ie I hate the others ) Carnifex Black Widow Epitaph desalvo aka Forlorn Extender Hannibal the Cannibal Sudden Impact LaserLore Moby Ravage Bias Crow Xypher Matryx Metal Skin Lord Azzur and anyone who I forgot about and stuff If you wish to contact me Call (or post to me on EclipseNET) The Lethal Aspect - Dark Temp WHQ - (416) 421-4839 Updated December 3rd 1995