GEISS is entirely copyright (c) 1998,1999 by Ryan M. Geiss.
All rights are reserved.


PLEASE NOTE: GEISS was formerly called FX.  Same author, same program.


WHAT IS GEISS?
--------------

   GEISS is one program, but there are two verions: a screensaver for 
   Windows 95/98 and a visualization plugin for Winamp.  Geiss uses hand-
   tuned x86 assembly language to reach blazing speeds, generating some
   of the most graceful realtime computer animation you've ever
   seen.  That's not it, though - GEISS is made to be an audio-
   visual experience.  This means it can hear whatever your
   computer hears and synchronize the graphics it generates to the
   sound you're hearing.  You can hook a microphone, stereo, TV,
   or anything into your sound card... you can also play an audio
   CD in your CD-ROM drive if you have the CD audio cable
   connecting it to your sound card.  Whatever the sound source,
   Geiss will create  a fluid, visual image that matches the
   sounds you're hearing.  It's a nice ride for the brain.


SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
-------------------
1. Microsoft DirectX 5.0 or later.
2. Microsoft Windows 95/98.  (Works on NT if you have DirectX, but
      won't actually auto-activate as a screensaver.  Go figure.)
3. Pentium-133 or faster processor.  For best performance, a 200 MHz
      or faster CPU is recommended.  MMX is highly utilized, so
      performance on MMX systems will see tremendous gains (especially
      in 32-bit color modes).


INSTALLING GEISS
----------------
-The screensaver:
Simply put the file GEISS.SCR into your Windows directory.  Then go to
the control panel, click 'Display Properties', click the 'Screen savers'
tab, and select "GEISS" from the list of screensavers there.  You're set
to go!  

-The plugin:
Just put the file VIS_FX.DLL into your WINAMP\PLUGINS directory, then
select it as your plugin through Winamp.  That's it.



LICENSE AGREEMENT
-----------------
You may use and copy Geiss freely.  However, you may NOT charge money
for distributing Geiss.  Don't try to sell this program - it's free.
If you paid for this program (for personal use), you were ripped off.


DISCLAIMER
----------
The author is not responsible for any damages or loss of data that
occur to your system for using Geiss.  Geiss is distributed freely, and
if you choose to use Geiss, you take all risk on yourself.  If your
system appears to have problems when Geiss is run, you should immediately
discontinue using Geiss.


NO PASSWORD SUPPORT
-------------------
It is especially important that you know that the screensaver version of
Geiss DOES NOT SUPPORT PASSWORDS like normal screensavers.  If you want a
screensaver with a password, use one of Windows' built-in savers.  The
author is not responsible for any security issues that come about because
Geiss does not support passwords.



+-------------------------+
|   CONFIGURATION PANEL   |
+-------------------------+

This section describes the function of each control in the configuration panel.


Graphics Options:

  Video Mode - this dropdown box lets you pick what video mode you want to run 
      the screensaver in.  The lowest possible is 320 pixels by 200 pixels 
      (320x200).  The highest possible is 1024x768 for the screensaver and
      640x480 for the plugin.  In addition, you can select the color depth:
      8, 16, or 32-bit.  8-bit mode gives you 256 colors, and you can the color
      palette during the program with the 'p' key.  In 16-bit color, 65000 
      colors are available, but the 'p' key has no effect.  In 32-bit color, 
      16.7 million colors are available.  The hicolor modes (16 and 32-bit)
      are substantially slower because 3 buffers must be processeds (one for 
      each red, green, and blue channel) whereas in 8-bit mode only 1 buffer
      must be processed.  Also, 16-bit mode is further slowed for technical
      reasons (three 8-bit values must be clipped & shifted into one 16-bit
      value for every pixel of every frame).  MMX is used to the highest
      possible extent in all screen functions, bit-chomping, and memory moves.

      The default video mode is 640x480x8 for the screensaver and 320x240x8 for
      the plugin.

      Newer video cards will be able to enumerate all their video modes, so
      everything on the list is a video mode that will work for you.  Older
      video cards don't have this capability; in this case, ALL possible video
      modes are listed.  Some will not work.  If you select one and try to
      run the program, and it reverts to the default video mode, then your
      video card can't handle that mode.  Try a different one.


  TOGGLES

  Dither on - Geiss performs error-diffusion dithering on every frame by 
      default.  The dithering is very subtle and smooth and takes NO extra
      time to process.  You can disable this option to take off the dithering,
      but I'll warn you, it looks sort of crappy.  

      This only applies to 8-bit color modes.  Hicolor modes always use 
      dithering.

  Dither randomly - If this is enabled, then every once in a while Geiss will
      enter a mode where the dither turns on and off every 25 frames or so.
      This can look really cool, try it.


  SLIDERS

  Vertical screen size - this lets you set what percentage of the screen is 
      filled by graphics.  You can set it from 30% to 100%.  A setting near 
      50% or 60% creates a nice letterbox effect.  The entire width of the 
      screen is always used; this just sets the vertical size.  Higher settings
      are proportionally slower.

  Frames between screen changes - this lets you set how many frames will display
      between map (screen) changes.  While you watch one map or screen in the 
      program, the next one is being generated in the background, and when it
      is finished, it immediately takes effect (unless you lock the screen with
      the 'L' key).  A lower setting will make the program slightly slower because
      larger chunks of the map will have to be generated each frame.  A setting of
      about 300-400 is recommended.

  Frame idle delay - set this to 0 (zero) if you want maximum speed out of the
      program.  However, if you like the resolution you're at and the animation
      is too fast, set this to 10 milliseconds or so.  The program will then 
      pause every frame for this many milliseconds and let Windows or Winamp 
      do its processing, and you'll see slower, smoother animation.  After
      getting the screen dimensions & color depth set to your tastes, if you're
      getting more than 30 frames per second, adjust this slider so that you
      only get 30 frames per second.  Trust me - it will look better!

  Use coarse palettes - this lets you set how often a 'coarse palette' is used.
      This only applies to 8-bit color modes.  A 'coarse palette' has a rough
      band in the dark area of the palette; this brightens up the screen and 
      heavily accentuates the dither patterns.  

  Use solar palettes - this lets you set how often a 'solar palette' is used.
      This only applies to 8-bit color modes.  A 'solar palette' has soft, 
      repeating bands of color in it.  The non-monotone nature of these palettes
      is their sale point.

  8-bit gamma correction - if the screen is too dark for you, crank this up.
      This only applies to 8-bit color modes.

  Default wave scaling - you can use the j/k keys during the program to scale
      the amplitude of the sound waves down & up, respectively.  If you always
      find yourself scaling them to a certain size every time you start the
      program, you can adjust this slider so that they start there automatically.
      However, it is highly recommended you adjust Windows' volumes (for the
      screensaver) or Winamp's volume (for the plugin) before doing this.  
      These volumes should always be set to 50% (halfway) for optimal results.


Sound Options:
  
  Sound input device - in the screensaver, this lets you select what sound card 
      or sound device to use for sound capture.  This has no effect for the plugin
      (Winamp provides sound input).

  Sound enabled - this only applies to the screensaver.  When checked, sound is
      turned on.  When unchecked, the screensaver runs without any sound 
      synchronization.  As such, it is slightly faster, but boring and dull in
      comparison.

  Suppress 'press h for help' message - every time you move the mouse, the 
      program pops up a message that says something like 'press h for help - 
      ESC/click to exit'.  If this bugs you, use this checkbox to turn it
      off.

  Generate debug info in c:\g_debug.txt - if you're having problems or think you've
      found a bug, enable this checkbox and run the program until the bug occurs.
      Then e-mail the file c:\g_debug.txt to me, along with a description
      of the bug.  Helpful information to include is your operating system, 
      version, Winamp version (if using the plugin), machine speed, RAM, how 
      many and what other programs were open, version of DirectX, whether or not
      the problem happens every time, etc.




TIPS
----
1. You should try all the video modes to see which one looks and runs
    best on your system; there are vast differences between them, in
    image quality, speed, and color depth.
2. You can run the GEISS screensaver like a normal application by putting 
    a copy of it on your desktop... just double-click it to run it.
3. For the screensaver, it is very important that volume levels be set 
    correctly. In Windows' volume control panel, set the input volume for 
    your microphone, line-in, and cd audio to about 1/2.  This should make 
    the wave brightness and amplitude optimal.
4. If you really want to squeeze out a higher frame rate, minimize
    other applications before running Geiss.
5. 'GEISS' rhymes with 'ice'.  It starts with a hard 'g' sound, as in
    'groovy'.




CONTACTING THE AUTHOR / UPDATE INFORMATION
------------------------------------------

e-mail:    geiss@cis.ohio-state.edu
web:       http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/~geiss/geiss.html

The web site will always have the most up-to-date version
of Geiss available for download.  It also hosts installation
instructions and up-to-date troubleshooting tips for both
the plugin and screensaver.  Please access these resources
before emailing me with technical problems.  



REGISTRATION
------------
Registration is not required for personal use.  However, registration
is required in order to legally use the Geiss screensaver or plugin
for public display by a for-profit organization, such as nightclubs,
bars, etc.  I obviously have few means to enforce this, so I am
relying on the "honor system" here - if you plan to use the program
to enhance your business, you should register it.  To register,
please contact me via e-mail (address is above).  The registration
prices are listed on the web site (address also above).  You may use
the program, commercially, one time - however, you must register
before using the program a second time.


